How we handle authorised push payment (APP) scams

On 7 October 2024, the Payment Services Regulator (PSR) introduced reimbursement rules to make sure banks and other payment firms in the UK treat victims of authorised push payment fraud (or APP fraud) consistently.

 

What is APP fraud?

APP fraud occurs when scammers trick you into sending them money from your account. Their strategies include:

  • Purchase scams, where you pay for an item or service that never arrives.
  • Investment scams, where you pay into fake investments that promise incredible returns. 
  • Impersonation scams, where scammers pretend to be your bank or another organisation you trust.

You can find out more about APP fraud scams here.

 

What do the reimbursement rules cover?

 

  • The rules apply to individuals, microenterprises and charities who make an APP fraud payment using Faster Payments in the UK to a relevant account* in the UK.
  • The rules only cover payments made on or after 7 October 2024.
  • As part of the rules, there may be a £100 excess applied, depending on claim circumstances.
  • The rules set out a maximum claim limit.
  • Claims are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

 

What doesn’t it cover?

 

A full list of exclusions can be found on the PSRs, but the most common instances include:

 

  • International payments.
  • First-party fraud.
  • Gross negligence.
  • Time exclusions (e.g., claims made before 7 October 2024, and APP claims submitted more than 13 months after the final payment to the fraudster as part of the same scam).
  • Payments made to an account the customer controls, or payments that are not authorised by the customer (‘unauthorised payments’).
  • Civil disputes.

 

How do I raise a claim?

 

  • Contact TransferGo via phone (+44 118 310 0891) in-app chat or email (hello@transfergo.com). Please provide as much information and supporting evidence as possible—such as the date, the transaction amount, account from which the transfer was made, the receiver’s details, along with the circumstances around payment authorisation.
  • You can expect a response within five business days—although this may extend to 35 business days if further investigation is required.
  • If you are dissatisfied with the claim outcome, you can raise a complaint here.

 

What else can I do?

 

  • Report any scams—or suspected scams—to TransferGo immediately.
  • Consider any interventions provided by TransferGo or relevant national authorities.
  • Comply with appropriate information requests from TransferGo to support assessment of the claim.
  • Report the scam to the police.

How to protect yourself

At TransferGo, we’re always working hard to keep you safe. In fact, we’ve implemented fraud warnings and industry-first security measures to detect fraud before it happens.

 

But your best defence is being vigilant and familiarising yourself with common strategies employed by scammers.

 

You can find out other ways to protect yourself from APP fraud here.

 

Always report fraud as soon as you realise it’s happened—both to TransferGo and the police. Follow our advice and warnings, especially alerts about potential fraud or the legitimacy of any particular payment. And should you make a claim, help us investigate it thoroughly by supplying any information we request.

 

We’ll always consider each claim on a case-by-case basis, but failure to carry out these preventative steps could impact your eligibility for reimbursement.

 

Support and advice

 

You can get free, confidential and independent advice by contacting the following organisations:

 



*Relevant account: an account that is provided to a service user, is held in the UK and can send or receive payments using the Faster Payments Scheme.