What happens now if a scammer talks you into a bank transfer

The call came on a Tuesday afternoon. The caller knew Margaret’s name, the bank she used and the last few digits of her card, and said her account had been compromised. To protect her savings, he explained, she needed to move them into a new “safe account” straight away. She made the transfer from her banking app while he waited on the line. By the evening she realised there was no safe account, and £12,000 had gone. Situations like this, where a person is tricked into sending a payment themselves, are now covered by a specific set of reimbursement rules.

What an APP scam is

An authorised push payment (APP) scam is one where the victim is manipulated into authorising a payment to an account controlled by a fraudster. Common versions include calls from someone posing as the bank or the police, fake investment schemes, romance scams and messages pretending to be a relative with a new phone number.

Since 7 October 2024, banks and other payment firms have been required to reimburse most victims of APP scams. The requirement was set by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), and it applies to payments made on or after that date.

Which payments are covered, and which are not

The rules cover payments between UK accounts sent over Faster Payments or CHAPS, the systems used for most online and mobile bank transfers. They protect individuals, microenterprises and charities.

The PSR lists several things that are outside the scheme:

• card, cash and cheque payments, which have their own protections;
• international payments;
• payments over other systems, for example money sent to a cryptocurrency exchange and then passed on in crypto;
• civil disputes, such as a genuine trader who fails to deliver or supplies faulty goods;
• payments from accounts with credit unions, municipal banks and national savings banks.

Unauthorised fraud, where someone uses a stolen card or gets into an account without permission, is dealt with under separate rules.

The limits: £85,000 per claim and an optional excess

The maximum a bank must reimburse under the scheme is £85,000 per claim. Firms can choose to pay more. Where more than £85,000 was lost and not reimbursed, the Financial Ombudsman Service says it can still look at the case.

A bank may deduct an excess of up to £100 per claim. This is optional: each firm decides whether to apply an excess, a smaller one, or none at all. The PSR says the excess cannot be applied to vulnerable customers.

“The excess is optional, and it cannot be applied to vulnerable customers.”

How quickly a bank has to decide

A claim should be reported to the bank that sent the payment within 13 months of the last scam payment. Banks can turn down claims made after that.

The PSR says reimbursement is expected within 5 business days of a claim. A bank can “stop the clock” while it gathers information, for example from the customer or from the bank that received the money, but it must reach an outcome within 35 business days. The cost of reimbursement is shared between the sending and receiving firms.

When a bank can refuse

There are two exceptions. A bank does not have to reimburse someone who took part in the fraud themselves (known as first-party fraud). It also does not have to reimburse someone who acted with gross negligence, which the PSR calls the consumer standard of caution exception.

The PSR’s policy statement sets out what customers are expected to do: take account of specific, direct warnings from their bank or the police about a payment; report the scam promptly once they suspect it; respond to reasonable requests for information from their bank; and report the matter to the police, or agree to the bank doing so. The PSR describes gross negligence as a high bar, meaning a significant degree of carelessness, and says the burden of proof is on the bank. The exception does not apply to vulnerable customers.

A worked example with three outcomes

The table below uses invented cases to show how the limits work. It is not a prediction of any individual claim, which each bank assesses on its facts.

Who this matters for, and what to do

Anyone can be targeted, and a loss can be especially hard to absorb for households living mainly on a fixed income such as the State Pension, whose weekly rates changed in April 2026. The PSR’s advice after a scam is to contact the bank immediately, respond promptly to genuine requests from the bank, and report it to the police or let the bank do so on your behalf.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, fraud is now reported to Report Fraud, the national reporting service run by the City of London Police, which replaced Action Fraud in December 2025. In Scotland, Police Scotland is contacted on 101. Separately, the 159 phone line run by Stop Scams UK connects callers to many UK banks; it is a number to dial yourself if a call about money feels wrong.

Where the rules are heading

The government has decided to abolish the PSR and move its functions into the Financial Conduct Authority. Legislation to do this, the Financial Services and Markets Bill, was before Parliament in October 2026. In its papers published that month, the PSR said that if the Bill is enacted as introduced, the FCA would gain powers broadly equivalent to the PSR’s, and would become responsible for the PSR’s existing directions after abolition. Until any change takes effect, the reimbursement rules described here continue to apply.

The short version

For bank transfers within the UK made since 7 October 2024, the bank that sent the money is generally required to reimburse a scam victim up to £85,000 per claim, possibly minus an optional excess of up to £100, unless the customer was complicit or grossly negligent. Claims go directly to the bank, free of charge, within 13 months. Anyone switching banks should note that a genuine current account switch never involves moving money to a “safe account” on a caller’s instructions.

This is private, sponsored general information from B.B.R. Finance OÜ on thepowertodomore.com. It is not a communication from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Pension Service or HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), and this website is not affiliated with them or with any other government body. It is not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Amounts and examples are illustrations, not a promise of any payment, refund or saving; they were checked on 28 October 2026 against the official sources listed and can change. This website takes no applications, arranges no products and charges no fees. Never give your National Insurance number, bank details or Government Gateway / GOV.UK One Login credentials to a website because you have read an article. For your own State Pension, tax or benefits, use the official services on GOV.UK.