Bank payments could be delayed by three days, giving more time to investigate scams
Bank payments could be delayed by up to three days under new rules that would give banks more time to investigate and break scammers' "criminal spell".
The government has proposed laws that will extend the time that payments can be stalled by up to 72 hours.
Currently, banks have until the end of the next business day to process or reject a customer’s payment.
If a bank finds evidence of fraudulent payments, it must inform customers of the delay and explain how to resolve it.
Banks will also be required to compensate customers for any interest or late payment fees caused by the delays.
Extending the time window will give banks more time to investigate suspicious transactions and block potentially high-risk payments.
Tulip Siddiq, the economic secretary to the Treasury, said: “Hundreds of millions of pounds are lost to scammers each year, targeting vulnerable communities and ruining the lives of ordinary people.
“We need to protect these people better, which is why we are giving banks more time to investigate suspicious payments and break the criminal spell that scammers weave.”
The changes are designed to protect people from authorised push payment (APP) fraud, where victims are tricked or pressured into sending money to fraudsters.
Rocio Concha, the director of policy and advocacy at consumer group Which?, said the proposals mark a “positive step in the fight against fraud”.
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“While it should not affect the vast majority of everyday payments, it’s important that banks can delay a bank transfer and take action if they think a customer is being targeted by a scam.
“These measures should be used in a careful and targeted way.”
Purchase scams, where people pay for goods or services that never arrive or are fake, are on the rise, along with romance scams.
In romance scams, fraudsters prey on vulnerable people, pretending to pursue a romantic relationship to trick them into transferring large sums of money.
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