Our approach to reimbursing Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud
APP fraud happens when someone’s tricked by a criminal into sending money. The money is sent to an account the criminal controls, as opposed to the customer.
How we reimburse customers who make APP fraud claims depends on the date of the transaction.
Transactions from 7 October 2024 onwards
These transactions are assessed under mandatory reimbursement regulations. These rules are set by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR).
We’ll refund eligible claims up to a maximum of £85,000 if the transactions are:
- Faster Payments or CHAPS made in the UK
- from a personal bank account, micro-enterprise or some charities.
A claim must be raised within 13 months of the final payment made to a fraudster, as part of the same scam.
We won’t assess your claim under these rules if the payments:
- are made by cheque, cash, card or outside the UK
- are to your own account held at another bank
- were for unlawful purposes, for example, if you were buying something illegal
- are part of a civil dispute.
If your claim is successful, we’ll put your money back into your account within 5 working days. In some cases, it may take up to 35 working days to receive a decision. This may happen if we need to ask you for more information.
Claim excess
If we reimburse you, we may not pay the first £100 per claim. For example, if you raise a claim for £1,000 then we may reimburse £900. We’ll assess this on a case-by-case basis.
The Consumer Standard of Caution
Under these rules, customers must take steps to protect themselves when they make payments.
You should:
- pay attention to warnings provided when you make a payment
- report a scam to us as soon as possible
- provide information to help with your claim if we ask for it
report the scam to the police or allow us to report on your behalf.
There’s more information available about these rules on the PSR website.
Transactions from 28 May 2019 to 6 October 2024
These transactions are assessed under a voluntary code we signed up to. This is called the Contingent Reimbursement Model Code (CRM Code).
Under the CRM Code, we‘ll reimburse customers in certain circumstances.
The CRM Code applies to:
- individuals’ personal accounts
- micro-enterprises
- charities with an annual income of less than £1million
- payments made within the UK. It won’t cover you if you send payments overseas.
There’s more information available in this Lending Standards Board guide.
Payments outside of the CRM Code and PSR rules
All APP fraud claims will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Even if they aren’t covered by the CRM Code or the PSR rules.
Santander terms and conditions
We'll change your account terms and conditions soon to reflect the changes.