Your rights under the APP fraud reimbursement rules
What you need to know.
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is introducing a reimbursement requirement for authorised push payment (APP) fraud within the Faster Payment System or Clearing House Automated Payment System (CHAPS). This means if you’re a victim to APP fraud, you may be eligible to get your money back.
These changes will be effective from 7 October 2024.
What is APP fraud and how to protect yourself
APP fraud is the most common type of financial scam in the UK. Put simply, it’s where fraudsters trick individuals and businesses into sending them money.
Our security and fraud section details many different types of scams and ways to protect yourself.
What the APP fraud reimbursement rules will cover
The rules apply to individuals, microenterprises (fewer than 10 employees as well as turnover and/or annual balance of up to £2m), and charities who fall victim to APP fraud.
What you need to know
Types of payments covered
The rules apply to any Faster Payment made from one UK account to another (both accounts must be in the UK, and can send or receive money through Faster Payments) or any payment made through CHAPS to another CHAPS account in the UK.
Payments won’t be considered for reimbursement where a ‘standard of caution’ is not met. The customer standard of caution requires a customer not to act with gross negligence. Gross negligence could be ignoring warning messages given when trying to make a payment or not notifying us in a timely manner if you suspect you are a victim of a scam.
Time limits
The rules only apply to payments made on or after 7 October 2024. APP fraud claims must be raised within 13 months of the final payment made to the fraudster as part of the same scam.
Optional excess
The PSR has given us the option to levy an excess of up to £100 per claim. This means you may have to pay up to £100 per claim, which would be deducted from your refund.
Maximum claim amount
As set out by the PSR, the maximum claim amount for an APP reimbursement claim is £85,000 (this applies to any related payments considered to be part of the same scam).
Vulnerable customers
If you have a vulnerability that has a material impact on your ability to protect yourself from a scam, you won’t be subject to the standard of caution or be required to pay any excess on the claim. However, the maximum claim amount would still apply to vulnerable customers.
Processing your claim
Each claim is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Your claim will be processed within 5 working days and, if approved, reimbursed within this time (subject to a “stop the clock” provision, in case more information is needed).
Not all APP scams qualify for reimbursement
Here are the exclusions to the reimbursement rules:
- Time exclusions - If the fraud took place before 7 October 2024 and any APP scam claims submitted more than 13 months after the final payment to the fraudster.
- International payments - If the bank accounts involved are outside of the UK.
- First party fraud - If you are found to have been behaving fraudulently.
- Gross negligence - If you don’t show reasonable care and diligence to protect your account. For example, if you ignore warning messages when making a payment.
- Payment made using cheques or cash.
- Payments which are not made through Faster Payments - Faster Payments arrive within seconds and don’t include card payments or BACS.
- Payments which are not made through CHAPS - CHAPS is same-day bank transfer system for high-value transactions in Pounds Sterling. For example, it can be used for house purchases.
- Civil disputes, for example a non-criminal dispute such as a breach of contract where goods were not delivered as promised etc.
- Payments made to another account of yours or to another of an additional account holder.
- Payments that are not authorised by you or the additional account holder. For example, if someone else makes a payment from your account.
- Payments sent or received by credit unions, municipal banks and national savings banks.
- Payments made for unlawful purposes.
Making a claim
How to report APP fraud
Seen suspicious activity on your account or think you may have been tricked into paying a scammer? Here’s what you need to do:
Contact us - Call us on 0330 024 0924 (from abroad call +44 207 153 8940) as soon as you realise you may have paid a scammer, so we can create and investigate your claim.
Check your statements - Make sure you have all the details of the unrecognised payments. Please include everything that took place as this will assist the investigation and help us try to recover any money.
Contact Action Fraud - Get in touch with Action Fraud (the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime) via their website or on 0300 123 2040.
We’ll provide an update on your claim - We’ll contact you to provide an update on your case within five working days. From time to time, we’ll require additional information.
Reporting fraud to the Police
Customers should report any instance of fraud to the Police, and obtain and provide us with a crime reference number. We may, with your permission, share the case details with the police after you have raised the reimbursement request.
You can find out more about reporting fraud or scams in our Help Centre.
How we review your claim
Your claim will be processed within 5 working days and, if approved, reimbursed within this time.
In some cases, we’ll require extra information, for example, from you or another bank, which means it can take up to 35 business days to resolve a claim. Regardless, we’ll still provide you with an update within the first 5 working days.
We consider the following when assessing each claim:
Whether there is evidence of first-party fraud (where you’re behaving fraudulently)
- Your vulnerability
- Whether there is any evidence of gross negligence
- Whether the claim qualified under the reimbursement requirement
We may, with your permission, share relevant information like personal or account details with the receiving firm to help resolve the claim.
If you’re not satisfied with our assessment
Please reach out to our complaints team in the first instance. If you don’t feel that we’ve been able to reach a satisfactory resolution to your complaint, you may contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
Upcoming changes to your terms and conditions
Due to the new rules set out by the PSR, we’ll need to update our terms and conditions to reflect your rights under the new reimbursement requirements. This will be done by 9 April 2025, and we’ll be in touch closer to the time.
If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact us.