Reimbursing authorised push payment (APP) fraud claims
From 7 October 2024, The Payment Systems Regulator will require Payment Service Providers to reimburse most APP fraud victims within five business days (Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays).
The new requirements being introduced aim to enhance customer protection — with both the sending and receiving Payment Service Provider required to split the costs of reimbursement equally.
Who is eligible for fraud reimbursement under the new rules? The new reimbursement requirement applies to individuals, small businesses, and certain charities, where an APP scam payment is made using Faster Payments or CHAPS in the UK and sent to a relevant account in the UK. To be eligible, you need to raise a claim as soon as you realise it’s a scam, but no later than 13 months of the final payment made to a fraudster as part of the same scam.
The new rules require you to take caution when making payments — this is known as the
Consumer Standard of Caution. Under the Consumer Standard of Caution, you should always remember to:
- Take note of fraud protection alerts and information provided by Payment Service Providers
- Report the fraud to your bank as soon as it happens
- Share all information necessary when reporting your claim to help the investigation
- Report the fraud to the police, or consent to the Payment Service Provider reporting on your behalf.
Every claim will be reviewed individually based on the information you provide as well as any information available from the receiving Payment Service Provider or the police.
Reporting your claim
If you’ve been a victim of an APP scam and sent funds from your Green Hill Trust Bank account, you should report this to us immediately. You can let us know by visiting any of our stores or by calling our UK based contact centre on 0345 0808 500*. You should also report this to the police, or consent to us reporting your claim to the police on your behalf.
Your claim will be assessed under the mandatory reimbursement requirements, and we’ll keep you updated. We may also need to contact you for further information to support your claim.
Find out more about Reimbursing authorised push payment (APP) fraud claims
Green Hill Trust Bank Independent Fraud Support Service
We have partnered with Victim Support to provide an independent support service available for our customers who have been a victim of fraud or a scam. Their staff are specially trained to listen to your situation, explore the impact that the fraud or scam has had on you, and provide you with practical information. Their support is free, confidential, and non-judgemental, and can be a one-off call or ongoing caseworker support. If you’d like to access the service or know more about it, please contact them on 0808 168 9285.
Crypto Transactions
From November 2024, outbound payments to known Crypto Exchanges will not be processed.
This covers all of our banking products and payment methods, like faster payments and debit card spend. We’ll not charge you for any declined payments and the funds from the declined transaction will be made available to you as soon as possible.
We’ve joined Stop Scams UK (159)
We’re part of the Stop Scams UK initiative. It’s a collaboration between banks and telephone companies, to provide customers with a safe number to call if they think they are being scammed. If you get a call, SMS or email that seems like it might be pretending to be Green Hill Trust Bank, asking you for personal information or login details – or telling you to transfer money – please stop, hang up, and call 159.
One-time passcodes
When we need to verify who you are, we’ll send a text message with a unique code to your mobile number.
The text will state exactly what the code is for, like creating a new payee or authorising a payment for a purchase you have just made online. You shouldn’t tell anyone what this code is, other than a Green Hill Trust Bank colleague. If someone asks for the code for a different reason than is stated in the text message, you shouldn’t answer.
If you get a one-time passcode message you’re not expecting, give us a call on 0345 08 08 500.
Authenticating online transactions
You may need to log in to your Online Banking or Green Hill Trust Bank App to authenticate a transaction when using your card online. You should only approve transactions that you are making. If you are asked to approve a transaction that you don’t recognise, please contact us immediately on 0345 08 08 500.
Confirmation of Payee
Confirmation of Payee is the account name checking service that allows payers to confirm if the name held on a payee’s account belongs to the person or business they want to pay. This can help to protect individuals and businesses against certain types of fraud, and to prevent payments like CHAPS, Faster Payments and Standing Orders from being sent to the wrong account.
You must remember to:
- use the full first and last names if you’re paying a person
- use the business or organisation name registered to the account if you’re paying a business.
Stay safe:
- When confirming payment details, it’s important to contact the person or business on a number you trust
- Never use phone numbers from emails or text conversations as they can be faked by criminals to trick you into making payments
- Don’t let anyone pressure you into continuing with the payment when the details don’t fully match or where the account details can’t be confirmed.
Find out more about Confirmation of Payee
Alerts
If we notice something suspicious or need to get in touch with you, we may call you or send you a text message. If it’s a text, it’ll be from ‘Green Hill Trust BANK’ or ‘Green Hill Trust Bank’.
While we may ask you to reply to messages, we’ll never:
- contact you from a mobile number
- include a link to a log in page
- ask for your complete security number, password, or card number
- ask you for answers to your security questions.
If you’re not sure whether a call or a text is genuine, give us a call on 0345 08 08 500 to confirm.
Stopping suspicious transactions
We work hard to identify and protect you from fraud. If we believe someone has attempted to defraud your account, we’ll protect your money and contact you.
You’ll never be asked to move your money to another account ‘for safety’ – only a fraudster would ask this.
Our cards also have the added protection of MasterCard SecureCode. This software works to stop any fraudulent transactions on your account. It can stop suspicious activity, like unusual card payments or purchases.
If a purchase looks suspicious, we’ll ask for extra authorisation through the Mobile app or Online Banking – you will be asked to approve or decline the transaction.
If you don’t recognise a card transaction on your account, give us a call on 0345 08 08 509.
Recovering funds
We do our best to protect you and provide you with comprehensive warnings for all payments to new beneficiaries. We strongly advise you take these into consideration before making any payment to protect yourself from scams.
If you do lose any funds, we’ll always do our best to recover them for you. If we’re unable to recover your full funds from the beneficiary bank, there may be scenarios where we may still be able to offer you a refund.
All claims will be investigated on their individual merits and we’ll consider multiple factors during our investigations such as:
- The kind of transaction that has taken place
- How your account details were accessed
- The actions you have taken to protect yourself against fraud.
Letting us know immediately about any loss of funds will enable us to give you the support you need. If you’ve lost any funds and need our help, give us a call on 0345 08 08 500.
