GC24/5: Authorised Push Payment Fraud: enabling a risk-based approach to payment processing

Read GC24/5 (PDF)

Why we're consulting

The Treasury has proposed amendments to the Payment Services Regulations (PSRs 2017) to enable Payment Service Providers (PSPs) to delay making a payment transaction where they have reasonable grounds to suspect fraud or dishonesty.

The policy aims to increase firms’ ability to tackle APP fraud while minimising the impact on legitimate payments.

To support this policy, we’re proposing changes to the guidance in our Payment Services and Electronic Money – Our Approach (PDF) (Approach Document) to explain how PSPs should apply the legislative changes to minimise the impact on legitimate payments.

We’re also consulting on changes to the Approach Document, which explain how we expect PSPs to address suspicious inbound payments while continuing to process payments quickly and efficiently. 

Who this applies to

• PSPs
• trade bodies representing PSPs
• credit institutions providing payment services
• payment institutions (PIs)
• electronic money institutions (EMIs)
• Gibraltar PSPs providing payment services in the UK

This Guidance Consultation will also be of interest to consumers and micro-enterprises, including charities, consumer groups, retailers, credit unions, law enforcement agencies.

Next steps

Online response form

We welcome your views on our draft guidance. Our consultation closes on 4 October 2024.  

Please use our online form, or you can send your comments on our proposals to [email protected].

Following the end of the consultation period, we will update the draft guidance to reflect feedback from stakeholders. We plan to publish a revised Approach Document for payment services by the end of 2024. 

Background

The UK has seen a significant increase in APP fraud. This is where someone is deceived into authorising a payment either:

• to an account that they think belongs to a legitimate payee but is actually controlled by a fraudster, or
• for something they believed was legitimate but is actually fraudulent  

Reducing and preventing financial crime, including APP fraud and money laundering, is a priority for us and is a key outcome in our Business Plan 2024/25.