Our Head of Fraud, Humera Yakub, recently took part in a fireside chat with Zilvinas Bareisis (Celent) at the 6th Annual Customer Experience in Financial Services event, exploring how the industry is responding to authorised push payment (APP) fraud, and what more is needed to protect customers.
Better protection, but fraud persists
Humera highlighted that the Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) APP fraud reimbursement policy, introduced in October 2024, has delivered clear improvements for customers. The PSR’s data shows 89% of APP fraud losses are now reimbursed, up from around 65% before the policy, with 82% of claims closed within five business days*.
This has strengthened customer confidence and ensures victims are better supported than ever before. However, APP fraud itself continues to rise, reinforcing that reimbursement alone cannot solve the problem.
Understanding the challenge
APP fraud differs from other types of fraud because it relies on customers being manipulated into authorising payments themselves, often through impersonation or investment scams.
Humera emphasised that the majority of these scams originate outside the banking environment, typically through social media or telecommunications channels. This creates a complex challenge, where banks play a critical role but cannot tackle the issue in isolation.
Tools like Confirmation of Payee remain an important safeguard, with millions of checks carried out every day to help customers verify who they are paying. But, as Humera noted, stronger, earlier intervention is needed.
Data sharing as the next frontier
A central theme of the discussion was the importance of data sharing in preventing fraud before it happens.
Humera highlighted Pay.UK’s work to support this through the development of its Enhanced Data Exchange (EDEx) initiative, a real-time capability that enables sending and receiving banks to share richer data at the point of payment.
By exchanging key information before a transaction is completed, firms can better assess risk and take action to stop suspicious payments. This represents a shift towards more proactive, intelligence-led fraud prevention.
She also stressed that industry appetite for this approach is strong, with data sharing widely recognised as one of the most effective ways to strengthen fraud mitigation.
A collective response across the ecosystem
Humera underlined that improving outcomes for customers will require collaboration beyond financial services.
UK Finance data shows that most APP fraud originates outside the banking sector, with around 66% of cases starting online and a further 17% via telecommunications channels**. Addressing this will require engagement across sectors such as social media, telecommunications and government, alongside ongoing work with partners, including the Home Office, to enable more effective and secure data sharing across the wider ecosystem.
Looking ahead
Humera’s message was clear, commenting: “While reimbursement has significantly improved outcomes for victims, greater focus must now be placed on prevention in tackling APP fraud. Unlocking more effective, secure data sharing, both within financial services and across sectors, will be key to identifying risks earlier, stopping fraud before it happens, and ultimately delivering better outcomes for customers.”
Sources:
*APP scams reimbursement dashboard for Q4 2025
**UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026
