The Financial Conduct Authority has released new rules which will allow victims of authorised push payment (APP) fraud to complain to the PSP receiving the payment.
In most APP fraud cases, the PSP is typically a bank which holds the accounts of either the victim or fraudster, the FCA said. Currently, the sending PSP is responsible of handling complaints not the receiving PSP.
Changes to the FCA Handbook will extend these obligations to the receiving PSP. Victims will now also be able to refer their complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service if they are unhappy with the outcome.
These new rules come into force on 31 January 2019.
APP fraud works where a fraudster tricks a payer into making an APP to an account controlled by the fraudster. According to UK Finance data, there were 43,875 cases of this fraud type in 2017, resulting in total losses of £236m, the FCA said.
FCA executive director of strategy and competition Christopher Woolard said, “The FCA takes APP fraud and the harm it causes to consumers very seriously. Now victims of APP fraud can make a complaint to the PSP receiving their payment and if they’re not satisfied with the outcome, can refer their complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (link is external).”
Last week, the FCA partnered with Ascent Technologies to componentise the FCA Handbook. In doing this, the FCA is hoping companies will find its guidelines easier to understand and as a result, compliance levels increase.
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