CP24/11: Faster Payments APP scams: Changing the maximum level of reimbursement

Date Published: 4 September 2024    Closing Date: 18 September 2024

In 2023, we published policy statements (PS23/3 Fighting authorised push payment fraud: a new reimbursement requirement and PS23/4 Fighting authorised push payment scams: final decision) setting out the details of our Faster Payments APP scams reimbursement requirement.

This requirement aims to incentivise all payment firms to prevent these scams from happening in the first place, and make sure consumers are protected if they do fall victim.

What does this document contain?

This consultation sets out our proposal to change the maximum level of reimbursement for the reimbursement requirement, for the 7 October 2024 policy start date. We are proposing to implement the policy with an initial maximum level of reimbursement set at the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) reimbursement limit, which is currently £85,000 per Faster Payments APP scam claim. The previous maximum reimbursement value had been set at £415,000, in line with the Financial Ombudsman maximum reimbursement limit at that time. 

We are not proposing any other changes to the policy or to the implementation date itself – the start date for the policy remains 7 October 2024.

To accompany this consultation, we are also publishing a draft cost benefit analysis and draft updated Notice of Value, which can be found lower on this page as supplementary documents. 

Why are we publishing this document?

We’ve already seen positive changes from many firms seeking to improve their fraud protections, on both the sending and receiving side. This means consumers are already starting to benefit from the incoming changes.

However, we have also heard feedback from some stakeholders about the risks and impacts of the maximum level of reimbursement, in particular prudential concerns for some smaller firms in the market. Recognising the importance of effective implementation, our pre-implementation work on the incidence and impact of high-value scams, and following our consideration of the concerns we have heard, we think it is appropriate to consult on a change to the maximum level of reimbursement.

It is our view that this proposed approach will ensure that we and industry can deliver timely and effective consumer protections from Faster Payments APP scams, which would address the vast majority of APP scams experienced by consumers, while mitigating concerns we have heard about the potential risks and impacts of our original approach to start the maximum level of reimbursement at £415,000 per Faster Payments APP scams claim.

Who should read this document?

This document is relevant to the payments industry, consumer groups, payment service providers, and prospective qualifying customers who use Authorised Push Payments to send money and will be within scope of the policy, once implemented.

What happens next?

This consultation is open until 1pm on 18 September 2024. You can email your comments to appscams@psr.org.uk. You can alternatively email to request a meeting to discuss your views in lieu of submitting a written response.  

Following our consideration of the responses and input we receive, we will publish our policy statement containing our decision on the implementation approach to the maximum level of reimbursement that will take effect from 7 October 2024, by the end of September.