£243m returned to APP victims

Victims of authorised push payment (APP) scams received £243 million in reimbursements from payment companies last year, according to the Payment Systems Regulator. APP scams involve consumers being deceived into sending money to seemingly legitimate parties. In 2024, new rules mandated that payment companies must reimburse victims up to £85,000. The regulator is set to be merged into the Financial Conduct Authority.

Over the past year, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has taken action to protect consumers, improve competition and lay the foundations for the future of UK payments.

Across 31.4 billion card transactions in the UK, the PSR has been pushing hard to ensure nobody pays more than they should. That means introducing new requirements on Mastercard and Visa on scheme and processing fees, demanding greater transparency in how they govern their services, and continuing work on cross-border interchange fees as litigation progresses.

When someone falls victim to an Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud, they now have a much stronger safety net. Payment firms reimbursed £243 million to victims by the end of 2025 and the PSR saw a drop in the types of fraud covered by our reimbursement policy. The PSR has continued to publish fraud data to help consumers understand the scale of APP fraud and hold payment firms to account.

The PSR also took action when its expectations were not met, fining the Bank of Ireland UK in February 2026 for missing the deadline to implement Confirmation of Payee – an important mechanism in combating fraud and giving people confidence when making online payments.

Open banking payments grew by 53% in 2025, more than 16 million users now benefit from open banking services – a sign that the technology has well and truly moved beyond early adopters. The PSR and FCA supported the rollout of variable recurring payments and helped establish the UK Payments Initiative, building a more competitive landscape for years to come.

Working alongside HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the FCA through the Payments Vision Delivery Committee, the PSR has been turning the National Payments Vision into reality. This includes near-term upgrades to Faster Payments and Bacs, and a new model for the UK’s future retail payments infrastructure.

The Financial Services and Markets Bill, introduced to Parliament in May 2026, includes provisions to transfer the PSR’s functions to the FCA while preserving their substance and scope.

David Geale, PSR Managing Director and FCA Executive Director of Consumers, Payments and Competition, said “This has been a defining year for payments regulation. We’ve seen money put back in the pockets of victims of scams, pushed for fairer terms on card payments and helped lay the groundwork for a payments infrastructure that delivers more for everyone. As we continue to move ahead with becoming part of the FCA, we’re taking the momentum we’ve achieved this year with us.”