Authorised Push Payment Fraud and Your Refund Rights

Authorised push payment fraud, usually shortened to APP fraud, is one of the most common types of scam reported in the UK. It covers any situation where you are tricked into sending money from your own bank account to a fraudster. Because you authorised the payment yourself, getting the money back has historically been difficult and often came down to the goodwill of your bank. That position has been shifting, with the Payment Systems Regulator developing a mandatory reimbursement scheme that obliges banks to refund most victims.

This article explains how APP scams work, what the new rules are expected to do, and what to do if it happens to you.

What counts as an APP scam

An APP scam is one where you are deceived into making a bank transfer to someone you believe is genuine. The payment usually goes through Faster Payments or CHAPS, and once the money lands in the fraudster's account it is often moved on within minutes.

Common types include:

• Impersonation scams. Someone pretends to be your bank, the police, HMRC, a utility company or a delivery firm. They claim there is a problem with your account or a tax bill, and pressure you into moving money to a "safe account" or paying a fake fine.
• Invoice and mandate scams. A fraudster intercepts or fakes an invoice, often during a house purchase, building work or a business transaction, and persuades you to pay into their account instead of the genuine supplier's.
• Purchase scams. You pay for goods or services that never arrive. These crop up regularly on social media marketplaces, classified sites and fake online shops.
• Romance scams. Someone builds a relationship with you online over weeks or months, then starts asking for money for emergencies, travel or investments.
• Investment scams. You are offered returns on shares, crypto, bonds or property that are too good to be true. The "platform" may look professional and even show fake gains before the money disappears.

The mandatory reimbursement scheme

The Payment Systems Regulator has been working on rules that will require banks and other payment firms in the UK to reimburse most victims of APP fraud where the payment was made through Faster Payments or CHAPS between UK accounts. The scheme is being rolled out under PSR oversight, and the detail of caps, timing and excess fees will be confirmed in official releases as implementation progresses.

The main features being put in place include:

• The sending bank and the receiving bank are expected to share the cost of the refund equally.
• Reimbursement should normally happen within a short window of reporting the scam, with the ability for the bank to pause while it investigates further.
• The scheme covers consumers, microenterprises and small charities.
• A small excess and a maximum claim limit are part of the design. Check the PSR's current guidance for the figures that apply at the time you make a claim.

If your loss is above the eventual cap, you can still pursue the remainder through other routes, including the Financial Ombudsman Service or, in some cases, civil action.

The consumer standard of caution

Reimbursement is not automatic. The rules include what the PSR calls a "consumer standard of caution". In practice, your bank can refuse or reduce a refund if you acted with gross negligence. The standard boils down to a few expectations: that you took notice of specific warnings the bank gave you before or during the payment; that you reported the scam promptly, and at the latest within 13 months of the final payment; that you cooperated with reasonable requests for information during the bank's investigation; and that you reported the scam to the police, or let your bank do so, if asked.

Gross negligence is a high bar. Being tricked, even by something that looks obvious in hindsight, is not on its own enough for a bank to refuse a claim. The bank has to show that your behaviour fell well below what a reasonable person would do. The rules also say that vulnerable customers cannot be held to the standard of caution at all, so if you have a condition or circumstance that made you more susceptible to the scam, that should be taken into account.

Scam Detector

Got a text, call, email or offer that feels off? Paste it in below and we will tell you how scammy it looks, the warning signs to spot, and exactly what to do next.

Try our Scam Detector free, here on this site →

What the claim cap means in practice

The cap will apply per claim, not per payment. If a scam involved several transfers that together come to more than the limit, reimbursement under the mandatory scheme will still be restricted to that figure. Most APP scams reported in the UK fall well below the likely cap, but the limit matters for larger frauds such as those linked to house purchases or investment scams.

Where losses exceed the cap, you can still complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you think your bank handled things poorly, for example by ignoring warning signs or failing to act on a confirmation of payee mismatch. The Ombudsman can award compensation in cases the mandatory scheme does not fully cover.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

How to report a scam

Speed matters. The sooner you tell your bank, the more chance there is of stopping the money before it is moved on.

• Call your bank straight away. Use the number on the back of your card, or the in-app chat. Most banks run a 24 hour fraud line. Ask them to attempt a recall of the payment and to freeze any further transactions.
• Report to Action Fraud. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, report online at actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, the route is different: report to Police Scotland on 101.
• Keep evidence. Save messages, emails, screenshots, phone numbers and any websites involved, and note the times and dates of conversations.
• Change passwords. Where you shared any account details or granted remote access, change passwords and run a security check on your devices.

If your bank refuses to refund you and you disagree, complain in writing and then refer the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service after eight weeks, or sooner if the bank issues a final response. Citizens Advice can help you put a complaint together. For broader guidance on spotting scams and protecting yourself online, UK Finance runs the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign, and the National Cyber Security Centre publishes practical advice on phishing, suspicious messages and account security.

Reducing the risk

Fraudsters move quickly, and not every scam can be intercepted in time. A few habits help:

• Treat unexpected calls, texts and emails about money with suspicion, even when they appear to come from a number or address you recognise.
• Use the confirmation of payee check when setting up a new payee, and stop if the name does not match.
• For large payments, especially during a property purchase, confirm bank details by phone using a number you already have, not one taken from an email.
• Before investing, check whether a firm is authorised by the FCA on the Financial Services Register.
• If something feels off, pause. Genuine organisations will wait.

The reimbursement rules will shift a significant part of the burden onto banks, which is a meaningful change. Getting your money back, though, is still harder than not losing it in the first place.

Related warnings

• Pig Butchering Crypto Romance Scams
• Cloned Investment Firm Scams
• Cryptocurrency Recovery Scams
• Fake Bank Fraud Team Calls

See more recent scams on the Latest Scam Warnings page.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Scam Detector lets you got a text, call, email or offer that feels off? Paste it in below and we will tell you how scammy it looks, the warning signs to spot, and exactly what to do next. Try it now →