The PSR Mandatory Reimbursement Scheme covers UK Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud victims up to £85,000 within 5 working days — with strict eligibility rules and a single “gross negligence” exception. Here’s exactly how it works, who qualifies, and how to claim.
Last reviewed: 13 May 2026 · ScamSupport research
Since 7 October 2024, the UK Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) requires all UK banks and payment service providers participating in Faster Payments / CHAPS to reimburse victims of Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud up to £85,000 within 5 working days of receipt of a valid claim. The cost is split 50/50 between sending and receiving institutions. The only exception is “gross negligence” on the customer’s part — defined narrowly and tested rigorously by the FCA / FOS. The scheme is statutory; banks cannot opt out. If your bank refuses or delays a valid claim, the Financial Ombudsman Service is the appellate route.
You qualify for PSR Mandatory Reimbursement if ALL of these apply:
This is the only ground on which a bank can refuse PSR reimbursement. The FCA / FOS interpret gross negligence narrowly — it’s a much higher bar than ordinary negligence. To refuse a claim on these grounds, the bank must prove:
Gross negligence is NOT:
FOS publishes case rulings; decisions.financial-ombudsman.org.uk is searchable. The clear pattern: gross-negligence refusals are rarely upheld.
When you call your bank’s fraud team, use this opening:
“I’ve been the victim of an Authorised Push Payment fraud. I’m calling to log a claim under the PSR Mandatory Reimbursement Scheme that came into force on 7 October 2024. The recipient account belongs to the criminal, not the person I believed I was paying. Please freeze any pending transactions, contact the receiving bank for funds freeze, and confirm the timing of my reimbursement under the 5-working-day window.”
This opening communicates: (a) you know what scheme applies, (b) you’ve framed it correctly under the legal terminology, (c) you know the 5-working-day deadline. Front-line bank staff sometimes attempt to slow-walk or mis-frame claims; using this language pre-empts that.
The PSR scheme requires reimbursement within 5 working days of a valid claim being filed. The bank can extend this to 35 working days if they need to investigate “complex” cases — but they must notify you in writing within the original 5-day window if they’re extending. They cannot simply “defer” without notice.
If the 5 working days pass without reimbursement or written extension notification: you have grounds for an immediate complaint. If 35 working days pass without resolution: escalate to FOS regardless of bank position.
Use our PSR Claim Wizard → to structure your written claim using the legal terminology that closes off bank pushback paths. The wizard runs entirely in your browser; nothing leaves your device. Generates a tailored claim letter referencing the specific scam category, the PSR scheme provisions, and the reimbursement timeline expectations.
Was the warning specific, named the scam type, and was timed in a way that you would reasonably have linked it to the specific transaction? Generic warnings don’t meet the gross-negligence test. The FOS rulings make this clear.
CoP mismatch warnings are the single most relied-upon defence. If you genuinely saw the warning and the warning specifically named that this could be APP fraud, the bank has a stronger position. But: many CoP warnings are framed as generic “the name doesn’t match” without explicit fraud framing. Many scammers use account holders whose names DO match (mules with first-name matches). The CoP defence is bank-by-bank and depends on the exact warning shown.
The scheme doesn’t require victims to call the bank before authorising payment. “You could have done more” is not gross negligence under the FCA / FOS test. Repeat: refer to specific clauses of the PSR scheme and ask for the final response letter.
This is the bank trying to reclassify the case as a buyer-vs-seller dispute rather than fraud. The test: were you deceived as to who you were paying, the identity of the recipient, or the nature of what you were paying for? If yes, it’s APP fraud. Pure quality disputes (item slightly worse than expected) aren’t APP; but item-not-as-described from a fake seller IS.
Since 7 October 2024, the UK Payment Systems Regulator requires all UK banks and payment service providers participating in Faster Payments and CHAPS to reimburse victims of Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud up to £85,000 within 5 working days of receipt of a valid claim. The cost is split 50/50 between sending and receiving institutions. Banks cannot opt out — it's a statutory scheme.
You qualify if: you sent money via UK Faster Payments or CHAPS to a UK-domiciled bank account; you authorised the payment yourself; you were deceived into authorising; the payment was made on or after 7 October 2024; the recipient was the criminal's account; and your bank is a UK FCA-regulated payment service provider. Cross-border payments, pre-October-2024 transfers, and cryptocurrency are not covered.
Within 5 working days of receiving a valid claim. Your bank can extend this to 35 working days only for genuinely complex cases — but they must notify you in writing within the original 5-day window if they're extending. They cannot simply defer without notice.
It's the only ground on which a bank can refuse PSR reimbursement, and the FCA / FOS interpret it narrowly. The bank must prove you ignored an explicit, specific, transaction-tailored fraud warning that you would have understood. Being persuaded by a sophisticated scammer, acting under emotional pressure, not double-checking a new payee, and being a victim of romance, investment, or tech-support scams do NOT meet the gross-negligence test.
Request a formal final response letter explaining their reasoning, then escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service. FOS is free for consumers and binding on the bank. In 2024 FOS upheld around 78% of APP fraud complaints in the consumer's favour. If FOS rules against you, civil litigation via an SRA-regulated solicitor remains available for substantial losses.
No. The PSR scheme covers only UK Faster Payments and CHAPS to UK-domiciled bank accounts. International wires, SWIFT transfers, and cryptocurrency are outside the scheme. For card payments use chargeback or Section 75 instead; for crypto, recovery options are extremely limited.