As part of the Queen’s Speech at the UK’s opening of parliament, a new Financial Services and Markets Bill was announced with new fraud protections for consumers.
This bill aims to protect access to cash and ensure the continued availability of withdrawal and deposit facilities across the UK. It also hopes to ensure the country’s cash infrastructure is sustainable for the long term.
Furthermore, the bill will enable the Payment Systems Regulator to require banks to reimburse authorised push payment (APP) scam losses, totalling hundreds of millions of pounds each year. In an announcement, the government said this will ensure victims are not left paying for fraud through no fault of their own.
This new bill also revokes retained EU law on financial services and replaces it with an approach to regulation designed for the UK. This includes the Solvency II legislation governing the regulation of insurers, which the government hopes to reform.
It also updates the objectives of the financial services regulators to ensure more focus around growth and international competitiveness. Other measures include reformed rules that regulate capital markets, protections for those that invest or use financial products, and ensure people can easily access their cash.
Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen said, “We are reforming our financial services sector now we have left the EU to ensure it acts in the interests of communities and citizens, creating jobs, supporting businesses, and powering growth across all of the UK. “We know that access to cash is still vital for many people, especially those in vulnerable groups. We promised we would protect it, and through this Bill we are delivering on that promise.
“We are also sticking up for victims of financial scams that can have a devastating impact, by ensuring the regulator can act to make banks reimburse people who have lost money through no fault of their own.”
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