APP Fraud

• Who are we?

EMM, financial protection is an important right, one we should all have. The implementation of the Authorised Push Payment (APP) scam reimbursement policy aims to protect victims who have suffered financial loss. APP scams are where criminals manipulate their victims into making payments or sharing personal details under false pretences. 

Often fraudsters will pose as a well-known legitimate business or a government body to win a victim’s trust.

This APP reimbursement policy addresses APP fraud within the Faster Payment System (FPS) and CHAPS payments. The key benefit of this regulation is an improved experience and protection for our customers with the aim that confirmed APP fraud losses are reimbursed within 5 working days.

What this means to you, as our customer, is that if you are unfortunate to fall victim to a scam on or after 7 October 2024 then you will be entitled to claim from us for the loss amount you have suffered, subject to the conditions below.

This policy explains your rights if you are the victim of an Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud. It applies to qualifying Faster Payments (FPS) and retail CHAPS payments made on or after 7 October 2024.

• What is APP fraud?

APP fraud is where you are tricked into authorising a bank transfer to a fraudster (for example through Faster Payments). Because you approve the payment, it is different from unauthorised fraud. (For CHAPS, the same reimbursement protections apply, see scope below.)

• What’s covered (scope)

A claim is in scope if all of the following apply:

• The payment was sent UK-to-UK over Faster Payments (FPS) or over retail CHAPS on/after 7 October 2024.
• You are a consumer (including individuals, micro-enterprises with <10 employees and ≤€2m equivalent turnover/balance sheet, and charities).
• You report the scam to us within 13 months of the last payment related to the scam.
• Where a payment was initiated via an open-banking Payment Initiation Service (PIS), it is still in scope.

Not covered: card payments, cash, cheques, international wires (e.g., SWIFT), SEPA, internal ledger moves, or crypto transfers. Also out of scope: civil disputes (e.g., paying a legitimate trader for goods/services that are poor/undelivered) and payments made for unlawful purposes.

• How does APP Fraud typically happen?

Common scam types we might see and mitigates:

• Impersonation (bank/police/tax authority/utility) asking you to “safe account” your money.
• Invoice & mandate fraud (business email compromise): payee details diverted.
• Purchase scams: paying for goods/services that don’t exist.
• Investment/romance scams: “opportunities” or relationships that pressure rapid transfers.

These typologies are within scope when the payment is UK-to-UK over FPS or retail CHAPS and not a civil dispute or unlawful purpose. 

• How should a client report APP Fraud to us?

Please contact us immediately (time matters for fund recovery):

Portal: Report a scam (preferred) (available 24/7; time of report is timestamped and used for regulatory timelines)

Email: appfraud@fxb.mywebpreview.co.uk

 (for initial reporting only)

Phone: +44 (0) 204 518 8728 (Mon–Fri, 09:00–17:00 UK time)

You can also report to Action Fraud (police) and share the reference with us. 

We will not make a police crime reference a pre-condition to reimbursement, but we may ask for consent to report the matter to law enforcement.

• What we will do and when 

We acknowledge your claim and open a case straight away.

We notify the receiving payment provider within 2 business hours (as defined by the rules) via the industry Reimbursement Claims Management System (RCMS system) for FPS and, for CHAPS, via bilateral contact channels (or RCMS directory) as required and request information. https://www.wearepay.uk/rcms/

We aim to decide and pay reimbursement within 5 business days. If we need more information, we may pause ("stop the clock") and will always decide within 35 business days.

Note: “Business hours” are 09:00–17:00 UK time on business days for the 2-hour notification metric; the 35-day outcome limit is an absolute cap (inclusive of any pauses).

• What is the PSR Mandatory Reimbursement

It’s a legal requirement that, for in-scope APP fraud over Faster Payments and retail CHAPS, the sending PSP must reimburse eligible victims within 5 business days (or within 35 business days where the firm legitimately “stops the clock” to get more information). Liability is then shared 50:50 between the sending and receiving PSPs. 

The maximum reimbursement per claim is £85,000; firms may charge up to a £100 excess (not allowed for vulnerable customers). There is no minimum claim value.

• Who is Eligible for Reimbursement

You’re in scope if all of the following are true:

• You’re an individual consumer, micro-enterprise, or charity (fewer than 10 staff and turnover/balance sheet ≤ €2m equivalent).
• The payment(s) were sent UK-to-UK via Faster Payments or retail CHAPS on/after 7 Oct 2024.

You report the claim within 13 months of the last payment in the scam.

EMM (as sending PSP) cannot evidence a valid exception (see “Consumer Standard of Caution” and “Fraud by the customer” below).

Making a claim

 You must provide all relevant information including account numbers, amounts, and the circumstances of the proposed fraud you believe will help with your case. Further questions may be asked from one of our colleagues, both at the time when the claim is made and during the claim process.

Not in scope: card payments (chargeback rules apply), cash, cheques, international wires (e.g., SWIFT), SEPA, or payments where either PSP is outside the UK , civil disputes, or payments made for unlawful purposes.

• Reimbursement amount, cap and excess

We will reimburse eligible claims up to £85,000 per claim.

No minimum: we do not impose a minimum claim value.

Excess: EMM does not apply a claim excess to eligible consumers (kept under review).

If your loss is above £85,000, we will pay the maximum and explain your options.

• Vulnerable Customers

If you are vulnerable in relation to the scam (for example due to coercion, cognitive impairment, bereavement, financial difficulty or other relevant circumstances), we will take this into account. Vulnerable customers will not have any excess applied and the Consumer Standard of Caution (gross negligence) exception does not apply to them. 

Tell us about any circumstances that may affect how we should treat your case. We assess vulnerability in line with FCA’s guidance on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers and PSR policy. We may ask reasonable questions to understand your circumstances.

• When might we decline a claim?

We reimburse in all but exceptional cases allowed by the rules. We may decline where we can prove one of the following applies:

Out of scope: not FPS/retail CHAPS; not UK-to-UK; reported after 13 months; claimant not a consumer/charity/micro-enterprise; payment before 7 October 2024.

First-party fraud: evidence the payer acted dishonestly.

Consumer Standard of Caution (gross negligence) for a non-vulnerable customer – for example:

• Ignoring a specific, relevant on-screen warning about the exact risk
• Failing to promptly report after discovering the scam
• Refusing to provide reasonable information we need to assess the claim
• Refusing consent for us to report to a competent authority when asked
• Civil dispute (e.g., the trader is genuine but the goods/service are disputed)
• Unlawful purpose (payment made for illegal goods/services).

We will always explain our decision in writing and how to challenge it.

• Linked payments & multiple transfers

If a scam involves several payments, we may treat them as one claim. We won’t apply multiple excesses to linked payments. The £85,000 cap applies per claim. This also applies to “multi-step” scams involving multiple in-scope transfers.

• Complaints & your right to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)

If you’re unhappy with our decision or how we handled your claim, please email us at complaints@fxb.mywebpreview.co.uk. If we can’t resolve it, or after you receive our Final Response, you may ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to review your case. We’ll include details in our outcome letter. (FOS can consider redress up to its monetary award cap.) 

FOS contact details

Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Tel: 0800 023 4567 

• Your information & sharing

We will use and share information (including with other payment providers, Pay.UK/RCMS, the Bank of England for CHAPS metrics, law enforcement and regulators) to process your claim, prevent fraud and meet legal duties. See our Privacy Notice for more detail. We will file suspicious activity reports where required, this does not remove our duty to reach an outcome within the required timescales.

• How to protect yourself from APP scams

• Double-check new or changed payee details using a known phone number (not email/SMS links)
• Read and follow any on-screen warning before sending money
• Never move money to a so-called “safe account.”
• Use multi-factor authentication and keep your devices up to date
• Don’t store passwords or pin numbers on your phone
• Protect your email with strong passwords
• Don’t use same pin number for your phone and mobile banking apps
• If  anyone asks you to divert a payment or move your savings, question it to the highest level. Make sure you phone the bank or firm directly and check on any changes to payment details. 
• Don’t rely on emails as they could be intercepted
• Don’t share your pin numbers or log in details with anyone; and
• Use confirmation of payee and ensure payments only go to a verified nominated account in your name.

Contact us immediately if you suspect a scam at Compliance@fxb.mywebpreview.co.uk