Payment route matters
The scheme covers qualifying transfers from one UK account to another using Faster Payments or CHAPS. Cards, cash and cheques have different protections.
Protection, evidence and public rules
Do UK bank reimbursement rules apply to me?
The mandatory UK APP fraud rules apply to qualifying people and organisations tricked into sending money between UK accounts through Faster Payments or CHAPS. Eligibility depends on the customer, provider, payment date, route and whether the event was fraud rather than a civil dispute.
Page P-024Guidance pageReviewed 29 August 2026
Key Guidance
They may apply if you are an individual, microenterprise or charity and made a qualifying UK bank transfer on or after 7 October 2024. Report the scam to the payment provider at once and within 13 months. Ask for a formal assessment rather than deciding from a checklist alone.
Start with Key Guidance for the short answer. Then read the sections that match what happened and what you need to do.
Understand the issue
Why this matters to you
‘Bank-transfer scam’ is a useful description but not the complete legal and scheme test. Several boundaries decide whether the mandatory route, another protection or a fairness complaint is relevant.
The payment date matters
The mandatory protections apply to covered payments made on or after 7 October 2024. Earlier events may still have other reimbursement or complaint routes.
Customer and provider matter
Individuals, microenterprises and charities are included, while the PSR identifies some provider types outside the arrangements.
Fraud differs from a civil dispute
Being deceived by a fraudster is different from a genuine supplier failing to provide satisfactory goods or services, although other consumer protections may apply.
Consequences and movement
What may happen next
Use the checklist to prepare the claim, not to reject yourself. The provider must assess the facts and explain its decision.
Likely scheme route
A covered customer was deceived into a qualifying UK-to-UK Faster Payments or CHAPS transfer made on or after 7 October 2024.
Different fraud protection
An unauthorised card or account transaction is not APP fraud and should be reported under the protections for unauthorised payments.
Different payment remedy
Card, cash, cheque, international and some other payment routes fall outside this mandatory APP scheme but may have other recovery, dispute or complaint routes.
Disputed scheme decision
A rejection, delay, deduction or vulnerability assessment can be challenged through the provider’s complaint process and the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Practical response
What you should do
Make the claim promptly. Give the provider enough information to classify the payment while keeping the distinction between fraud, product failure and unauthorised activity clear.
- Report every paymentContact the sending provider at once and identify each amount, date, recipient, system or transfer service involved.
- State how you were deceivedExplain the person or organisation you intended to pay, the false claim, the expected purpose and how the recipient differed from that belief.
- Ask for the applicable ruleRequest a formal APP reimbursement assessment and ask the provider to explain any exclusion, excess, delay or partial outcome in writing.
- Respond through verified routesSupply requested evidence promptly after checking that the request genuinely comes from the provider. Report to the police or consent to provider reporting where requested.
- Record vulnerability and support needsExplain circumstances that affected your ability to protect yourself or engage with the claim. The gross-negligence exception and optional excess do not apply to vulnerable consumers.
- Complain if the decision is unsatisfactoryUse the provider’s formal complaint route, then the Financial Ombudsman Service if needed. Observe the deadline stated in the final response.
Look more closely
Reimbursement eligibility is a rule test, not a judgement
A reimbursement decision should examine the customer, transfer, providers, date and conduct requirements. It should not replace that assessment with assumptions about intelligence, carelessness or blame.
The contact, persuasive claim, adopted identity and requested action explain how the transfer was produced.
The system, accounts, date and recipient confirm the transaction route.
Customer, provider and scheme rules find out the mandatory protection.
Complaint handling can examine the provider’s prevention, response and decision.
Recovery, support and prevention continue regardless of the claim outcome.
Selected history
Historical cases and lasting lessons
Mandatory scheme began
The PSR’s reimbursement protections started for qualifying APP fraud payments through Faster Payments and CHAPS.
Lasting lesson: Payment date and system are scheme facts that should be confirmed early.
Time, excess and claim limits
Claims should be reported as soon as possible and within 13 months. The standard maximum is £85,000, and a firm may apply an optional excess of up to £100, subject to vulnerability protections.
Lasting lesson: A headline promise of reimbursement still requires a provider decision under current conditions and limits.
Transferable understanding
Patterns over time
Authorised does not mean informed
The customer may have technically approved the transfer while acting on a false identity, purpose or destination.
One label hides several regimes
APP fraud, unauthorised fraud, card disputes and civil disputes use different rules and evidence.
A checklist can create premature exclusion
People may wrongly conclude that they are not covered before the provider has classified the payment and circumstances.
Process quality matters after the scam
Delay, unclear explanations and failure to consider vulnerability can become separate complaint issues.
Plain-language answers
Common questions
How much can be reimbursed?
The mandatory scheme maximum is £85,000. Firms may choose to reimburse more, and the Financial Ombudsman Service may consider complaints within its own current jurisdiction and limits.
How quickly should a claim be decided?
The PSR says reimbursement is generally expected within five business days. A provider can stop the clock for necessary information, but must reach an outcome within 35 business days.
Can the provider deduct an excess?
A provider may choose an excess up to £100. It cannot apply that excess to vulnerable consumers under the scheme.
Can the bank reject me for negligence?
Complicity can exclude a claim. Gross negligence is described by the PSR as a high bar and the exception does not apply to vulnerable consumers. Ask for the specific evidence and rule supporting any rejection.
Make the claim first; challenge the classification when necessary
The PSR does not investigate individual cases. Start with the bank or payment provider, keep its written decision and use the Financial Ombudsman Service if you remain unhappy with the handling or result.
Scamology Insights
Separate the scam pathway from the reimbursement test
These learning resources can help explain how an apparently authorised payment was produced while keeping legal eligibility, provider conduct and recovery as distinct evidence questions. Links are intentionally withheld in this production version.
Continue understanding
Explore related guidance
Evidence and currency