UK to make APP fraud reimbursement mandatory

UK’s government is to legislate for mandatory reimbursement for victims of authorised push payment (APP) scams after hundreds of millions of pounds were stolen in first half of 2021.

Through an industry consultation, the UK payments systems regulator (PSR) is investigating how to reduce losses to the technique, which is increasingly used by criminals. It is calling on banks and tech firms to be more transparent about APP fraud levels, increase prevention and make reimbursement to victims mandatory.

The PSR wants the publication of fraud data by the UK’s largest banks and building societies and is calling for smaller finance firms to publish data on their performance in relation to APP scams and on reimbursement levels for victims.

It also wants firms to improve scam prevention through intelligence-sharing and wants work done on developing how best to make reimbursement mandatory to victims of APP scams.