From 7 October 2024, The Payment Systems Regulator will require Payment Service Providers to reimburse most APP fraud victims within five business days (Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays).
The new requirements being introduced aim to enhance customer protection — with both the sending and receiving Payment Service Provider required to split the costs of reimbursement equally.
Authorised push payment (APP) fraud is where individuals are victims of a scam due to fraudsters tricking them into sending money. Some examples of these are:
The new reimbursement requirement applies to individuals, small businesses, and certain charities, where an APP scam payment is made using Faster Payments or CHAPS in the UK and sent to a relevant account in the UK. To be eligible, you need to raise a claim as soon as you realise it’s a scam, but no later than 13 months of the final payment made to a fraudster as part of the same scam.
The new rules require you to take caution when making payments — this is known as the Consumer Standard of Caution. Under the Consumer Standard of Caution, you should always remember to:
Every claim will be reviewed individually based on the information you provide as well as any information available from the receiving Payment Service Provider or the police.
The sending Payment Service Provider must reimburse any eligible APP claim to the victim within five business days of the victim reporting the scam. The Payment Service Provider may take longer under certain circumstances and pause the five business day reimbursement timescale. The timescale for deciding whether to reimburse is then moved to 35 business days.
The maximum reimbursement amount per claim is £85,000. However, this amount may change in the future. Payment Service Providers can choose to apply up to a £100 excess on any APP fraud claim. If Payment Service Providers choose to apply this excess, customers will be reimbursed the full amount minus £100. For claims under £100, no reimbursement would be provided.
If you’ve been a victim of an APP scam and sent funds from your Metro Bank account, you should report this to us immediately. You can let us know by visiting any of our stores or by calling our UK based contact centre on 0345 0808 500*. You should also report this to the police, or consent to us reporting your claim to the police on your behalf.
Your claim will be assessed under the mandatory reimbursement requirements, and we’ll keep you updated. We may also need to contact you for further information to support your claim.
There may be some instances where you may not be eligible for reimbursement such as:
Remember, if you believe you’ve been a victim of fraud, please contact us as soon as possible so we can help you on 0345 0808 500* or pop in to one of our stores.
* Metro Bank won't charge you for your call. However, you may be charged for your call by your service provider.