What the Authorised Push Payment Scam Code means to your business

Under the APP Scam Code customers who are protected will be fully reimbursed if they fall victim to an APP scam, provided they did everything expected of them under the Code.

The APP Scam Code applies to:

• All personal customers.
• Charities with an annual income of less than £1 million.
• Micro-enterprises – an enterprise which employs fewer than 10 people and whose annual turnover and annual balance sheet total does not exceed EUR 2 million.

The APP Scam Code does not cover:

• Any payments completed before the APP Scam Code came into force on 28 May 2019.
• Any disputes relating to unauthorised payments (such as where the customer has not consented to the payment) or other payments which are not related to an APP Scam. This is a fraud and will be covered by other regulation.
• Commercial disputes, for example, where a customer has paid a legitimate supplier for goods, services or digital content but has not received them, or they are in some way defective.
• Payments made overseas. The APP Scam Code applies to UK customers and UK Sterling payments only.

The APP Scam Code has been launched to help those who have lost money due to a scam.

This guide explains how the APP Scam Code works.

Technology advances bring many benefits, such as online and mobile banking. However, in an increasingly digital world, technology also allows criminals to become more sophisticated.

That is why we were one of the founding members of a group of banks which established the ‘Authorised Push Payment (APP) Scam Code’. We are one of eight member banks who have signed up to this voluntary code. 

Here are some of the things we already do to protect you against scams:

In our Online banking and Mobile app there are now warnings & advice when you pay money to a new payee.

In higher risk circumstances we may perform additional checks on payments that you request, often getting in touch to check details and give advice on the signs of a scam.

We educate you through promotion of the industry Take 5 initiative to raise awareness of scams and how to deal with them.

Our colleagues are trained to spot payments which customers believe to be genuine but are actually scams.

Find out more on our approach to fraud prevention page.

We have a lot of advice on our website to help you understand common scams and what to look out for. Scammers are always changing tactics, so it's important to stay up to date with these. 

Visit our Security Centre homepage for general advice on how to stay safe and secure.