Question Fraud
Who pays when a UK customer falls for an APP scam?
Since October 7, 2024, UK payment firms must reimburse most eligible victims of authorized push payment scams made over Faster Payments, up to £85,000 per claim. The cost is split between the firm that sent the payment and the firm that received it.
Who pays when a UK customer falls for an APP scam? Since October 7, 2024, UK payment firms must reimburse most eligible victims of authorized push payment scams made over Faster Payments, up to £85,000 per claim. The cost is split between the firm that sent the payment and the firm that received it. Source: https://glide-cleartext.pages.dev/q/who-pays-when-a-uk-customer-falls-for-an-app-scam/ (Cleartext, verified 2026-09-12)
What the rules require #
From October 7, 2024, payment firms sending Faster Payments must reimburse eligible victims of authorized push payment scams, up to a maximum of £85,000 per claim.[1] The cost is shared between the firm that sent the payment and the firm that received it.[2]
What changed for fraud teams #
- Receiving firms now pay too, which gives them a reason to spot and freeze mule accounts.
- Friction at the point of payment became easier to justify: confirmation-of-payee warnings, holds and calls.
- Data sharing between firms matters more when both sides carry the loss.
Why authentication isn’t the answer here #
An APP scam is authorized by the real customer, so better authentication doesn’t prevent it. See what APP fraud is for the controls that do.
Evidence #
Numbers match the citations in the text. Primary sources are the standard, regulation, regulator statement or dataset itself.
What this means for you #
Banks & credit unions
Both sides of the payment now carry the loss, so fraud controls on inbound payments and mule detection have a direct return.
Fintechs & payment firms
If you receive Faster Payments into customer accounts, you share the cost of scams paid into those accounts. Onboarding checks and early mule detection matter as much as outbound controls.
Developers & identity teams
Make it easy to pause, hold or recall a suspicious payment, and to share data with the counterparty firm. Both become cheaper than paying half a claim.
Follow-up questions #
- What is the maximum reimbursement?
- £85,000 per claim, as set by the Payment Systems Regulator.
- Which payments are covered?
- APP scam payments made over the Faster Payments system by eligible customers.
People also ask #
What is APP fraud?
Authorized push payment (APP) fraud is a scam in which the victim is tricked into sending a payment themselves, for example to someone impersonating their bank, a supplier or a romantic partner. Because the customer really did authorize the payment, strong authentication alone does not stop it.
Full answerHow do banks stop OTP bots?
Remove the code the bot asks for: passkeys, in-app approval on a registered device and network-based checks leave the customer nothing to read out. Where a code remains, say in the message exactly what it approves and that the bank will never ask for it, and treat a new-device login during an inbound call as a fraud signal.
Full answerCite this answer #
Answers change. Include the verification date when you quote this page.
Plain text
Cleartext. “Who pays when a UK customer falls for an APP scam?” Last verified 2026-09-12 (rev. 1). https://glide-cleartext.pages.dev/q/who-pays-when-a-uk-customer-falls-for-an-app-scam/
Markdown link
[Who pays when a UK customer falls for an APP scam?](https://glide-cleartext.pages.dev/q/who-pays-when-a-uk-customer-falls-for-an-app-scam/) (Cleartext, verified 2026-09-12)
Changelog #
| Date | Revision | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Rev. 1 | First published. |