London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Proposals to reimburse scam victims are half-baked, says Treasury Committee

Proposals to reimburse scam victims are half-baked, says Treasury Committee

Treasury Committee chair Harriett Baldwin said regulators need to sort out exclusions and criteria quickly.
Proposals to reimburse victims of bank transfer scams are half-baked in their current form and need further action, according to the Treasury Committee.

New financial regulations being considered by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) will require banks and building societies to fully reimburse victims of authorised push payment (APP) scams, where the loss is more than £100.

At least 196,000 people collectively lost £583 million to APP scams in 2021 according to the trade association, UK Finance.

Last month, the Treasury Sub-Committee on Financial Services Regulations, which scrutinises regulatory proposals, questioned why fraud under £100 would not be refunded.

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) said, in correspondence published on Saturday, that about a quarter (24%) of APP scams were for transactions of less than £100, representing 1% of cases.

These figures were taken from analysis of figures provided by eight members of UK Finance.

The regulator has indicated that it is aligning with the minimum reimbursement level for credit card fraud, the committee said.

The committee also asked what actions would count as “gross negligence” – which would mean customers would not be reimbursed in some circumstances.

The regulator has said it will be working with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to monitor how gross negligence is applied by firms.

The committee is concerned that this could further delay scam victims getting their money back.

Commenting on the correspondence, Harriett Baldwin, chair of the Treasury Committee, said: “Fraud is on the rise and our constituents are being robbed.

“Regulators need to get their skates on and sort out all of these exclusions and criteria quickly.

“Our committee will keep up the pressure so that implementation is not dragged out or half-baked.”

Separately, the MPs also asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) whether fraudulent transactions within the same bank will miss out on mandatory reimbursement protection.

In response, the regulator agreed in principle that these scams should be reimbursed, but outlined that it does not currently have the regulatory powers to enforce this.

The FCA has said it is considering the next steps, including whether a legislative change may be needed.

The Financial Services and Markets Bill making its way through Parliament will require the PSR to establish a system for mandatory reimbursement of APP fraud over the faster payments system.

MPs are also interested in understanding what similar measures are being taken in the high-value payments system Chaps, which can be used for transactions such as buying a house or a car.

The committee has asked the Bank of England, which is the operator of Chaps, why transactions made through Chaps are not included in the reimbursement proposals.

The Bank has said it is working closely with regulators to ensure planning around APP scam reimbursement intervention is aligned effectively and it will write back again to the committee in the weeks ahead with a fuller update.

The PSR said in a statement: “We welcome the Treasury Committee’s continued interest in this important matter.

“We want people to be better protected if they are targeted by a scammer and our recent proposals aim to provide much greater and consistent levels of protection against APP fraud.

“Our proposals will place strong incentives on banks to do more to detect and prevent APP fraud in the first place. All in all the change we’re proposing, and those we’ve already made, represent a significant step up in the level of protection and support people will get.

“Under our proposals, banks must reimburse the majority of customers who have fallen victim to APP fraud. This will lead to a significant increase on current reimbursement rates, which are around 56%.

“Any exceptions to reimbursement, including gross negligence, are a very high bar which we expect will apply in only a small minority of cases and never where the victim is a vulnerable consumer.”

The PSR said it has received a “wide range of views” to its consultation, which it is considering.

It said: “We will set out our final position in May 2023, which will include our approach to ensuring that there is a consistent understanding around any exceptions.”

The PSR said all feedback received will be considered carefully before any final decision on the best course of action is made “to make sure people are properly protected from these devastating scams”.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
×