Arrow left dark
Newsletter icon SUBSCRIBE

Payment Systems Regulator receives super-complaint over push payments

Clock icon Reading time: 2 minutes

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), the economic regulator for the £75 trillion UK payment systems industry, has received a super-complaint from consumer watchdog Which? relating to concerns it has around consumer safeguards in the market for push payments.

A push payment is a credit transfer from the consumer’s financial institution to the merchant, as opposed to a debit transfer (pull payment). Payment is made directly from the consumer’s account rather than through a third-party account.

Which? is concerned that when consumers are tricked into transferring money to a fraudster via a ‘push’ payment (such as when the consumer instructs their bank to send money) there is not an appropriate level of protection compared to other types of payment.

Which? said that an investigation is needed to address:

  • The extent to which banks could change their conduct to reduce consumer harm from scams that trick people into authorising push payments to a fraudster.

  • Possible changes to legislation or regulation, to change the incentives on banks and payment system operators, and to ensure that more is done to manage the risks from these types of scams and to protect consumer from harm.

    • The PSR says it will now examine the evidence Which? has supplied and gather its own to build a clearer picture of the issue and decide a course of action.

    While the super-complaint has been made to the PSR, the body said that it will work closely with City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority on the matter as well as any other relevant organisations.

    Anybody with information they believe could be helpful can contact the PSR at PSRSuper-Complaints@psr.org.uk

    Share icon
    Share this article: