Public awareness of new regulations that require UK banks to reimburse victims of payment scams remains critically low, weeks after their enforcement. 

On 7 October, the Payment Systems Regulator mandated that all UK banks must repay customers who are proven to be victims of payment scams up to £85,000 per case. A survey of 2,000 UK adults has found that less than three in ten (29%) UK adults are aware of the new regulations - rules that significantly ease the financial burden in the event they fall victim to a payment scam. 

The survey was commissioned by anti-fraud fintech company, Tunic Pay, and conducted by Opinium, the independent market research consultancy. 

After being told of the new rules by their telephone interviewers, three fifths (60%) of respondents consider them fair and 67% believe these rules will make banks do more to protect their customers from falling victim to fraud in the first place. Another 49% think that the rules will alleviate people’s concerns about getting scammed, knowing that they can get some reimbursement of financial losses. 

Reimbursement is popular but doesn’t solve the bigger issue

The rules do not, however, alleviate all concerns. Seven in ten (71%) UK adults are worried that the new regulations won’t solve the problem of preventing scams before they happen. This rises to 80% among those aged 55+. Additionally, less than half (43%) of people believe they will be an effective way of reducing fraud overall. This falls to less than two in five (38%) among people aged 55 and over.

Less than one in ten (9%) of respondents believe that banks aren’t going to start to make it harder for people to prove that scams weren’t their fault so that they don’t have to pay out. This drops to almost one in twenty (6%) of those aged 55 and over. 

Nicky Goulimis, CEO of Tunic Pay, comments: “It’s concerning that public awareness of APP scam reimbursement remains so low. While the new rules provide important protection and peace of mind, they don’t address the core issue - preventing scams in the first place. Fintech providers and banks have a unique opportunity here to use scam detection and invest in preventative technology that makes customers feel genuinely safeguarded, rather than merely reimbursed, after the fact.”