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The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) wants to see greater transparency on how financial firms are treating victims of authorised push payment (APP) scams.
APP fraud has been the theme of the week in the UK.
First, the Treasury Select Committee critiqued the PSR’s plans on how to deal with reimbursement and then the Lending Standards Board adjusted its requirements for signatories of the Contingent Reimbursement Model (CRM) code in hopes to increase prevention.
Now, the PSR has opened its latest consultation, providing payment service providers (PSPs) with guidance on what they need to report regarding APP scam data.
Firms have just two weeks to respond to the consultation, which will close on February 23. The reporting requirement, meanwhile, will be given formally in March 2023.
“People should know how well their banks and building societies will protect them if they were ever to fall victim to an APP scam,” said Kate Fitzgerald, head of policy at the PSR. “Our reporting requirement is one of a suite of measures we have proposed that will help tackle the problem of APP scams.”
The payments regulator wants to see better protections for everyone from APP scams, which have been at the top of the agenda for PSPs in recent years, especially considering the nightmarish statistics.
UK Finance data for 2021 revealed gross losses of £583.2m, while £249.1m losses were incurred through APP fraud in the first half of 2022.
Last year, the PSR consulted on a range of measures, including a requirement on financial institutions to report on the number, value and reimbursement rates to victims of these crimes.
In its latest consultation, the PSR is seeking views on guidance for PSPs who will be required to publish data on their performance on APP scams.
The PSR sets out that the reporting will continue to develop over the coming months to make sure there is a clear picture of how financial institutions are performing.
“For the first time, when banks start to publish their data, people will be able to judge whether theirs is doing enough to protect them from fraud,” said Fitzgerald. “This means everyone will be able to decide which organisation is going to give them the best protection and service.”
The data will be collected and published on a six-monthly basis with the first submission by firms due in May 2023. The PSR will subsequently collate and then publish the first report by October 2023.
