UK lenders are reportedly divided over whether to charge fraud victims under new fraud reimbursement rules.
From October 7, UK banks will be required to refund up to £85,000 to customers who have fallen victim to authorized push payment (APP) fraud.
However, as reported by the Financial Times (FT), reported On Monday (September 30), these new rules will also allow banks and payment companies to collect a £100 fee for resolving fraudulent claims, which has been controversial in some quarters.
The report said many industry participants see the surcharge as a way to ensure customers are wary of fraudulent activity.
At the same time, consumer groups have hit back at the accusations, pointing out that 32% of APP fraud cases occur for amounts under £100, meaning consumers will be at a loss if they are refunded.
Some banks (TSB, Nationwide, Virgin Money, Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank and AIB) have told the FT that they will not charge customers who are victims of APP fraud.
NatWest has said it may apply a fixed excess of £100 to refunds to customers, while Metro Bank and payment service providers Modular and Zempler have both said they will charge the full £100 fee. said.
Nicola Bannister, TSB's customer support director, said a third of the bank's fraudulent claims were for less than £100, and most were the result of social media-based purchase fraud.
“£100 can mean a lot of money to someone,” he said, adding that other banks should clarify whether they planned to apply the fee.
Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC, Monzo, Starling, Co-operative Bank and Danske Bank have all yet to decide on their final position on the matter, but have provided some form of notice to customers before the new APP fraud rules come into force. I plan to.
The UK regulator has introduced reimbursement rules following a spike in APP fraud cases. Data from the country's Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) shows APP fraud totaled nearly £341m last year, down 12% on the previous year. However, the number of fraud cases increased by 12% to 252,636 from 224,603 in 2022.
PSR managing director David Zeal said in August: “We are seeing positive changes, with more victims being compensated than in 2022.” “But there is still work to be done, especially for some small businesses, which are subject to much higher rates of fraud than larger businesses.”
