Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of use of The Payment Services (Amendment) Regulations 2024.

The Payment Services (Amendment) Regulations 2024 allows payment service providers to delay the execution of certain payment transactions by an additional 72 hours where there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud or dishonesty, and where more time is needed to contact the customer. Use of these provisions is a matter for payment service providers and considered on a case-by-case basis.

Under these Regulations, the FCA is the responsible regulator. HMT regularly discusses with the FCA the effectiveness of policy, including measures to tackle fraud and ensure the framework in place supports both strong consumer protection and the efficient functioning of the UK’s payments ecosystem, but does not collect data on it.