Fraud Management & Cybercrime , Geo Focus: The United Kingdom , Geo-Specific

Regulator Urges UK Banks to 'Help Foot the Bill' for Fraud

While the U.K. Payment Systems Regulator is taking steps to ensure customers receive consistent treatment from banks, fraud protection still has inconsistencies. Several policies have been introduced over the years to protect fraud victims such as voluntary reimbursement guidelines, but consumers can't always count on them.

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"We found that there was a huge variety in the protection offered, depending on who you bank with in the U.K.," said Kate Fitzgerald, head of policy at PSR. The U.K.'s new mandatory reimbursement regime will ensure consistent policies across all banks and motivate them to take preventive measures to fight fraud.

"For the first time, the firms receiving fraud will need to help foot the bill," she said.

In this video interview with Information Security Media Group, Fitzgerald also discussed:

• The need for consistent fraud control across all U.K. firms;
• Challenges facing smaller banks in adopting new fraud prevention solutions;
• The need for better data sharing and collaboration to fight fraud.

Fitzgerald has led PSR policy since October 2022. She previously served as a senior adviser to PSR. She has more than 25 years of experience in payments, 18 of these at Lloyds in retail banking and payments including payments integration for the merger of Lloyds and HBOS and leading the design and build project for the payments function at TSB.