Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department holds data on how many times in 2025 the provisions of the Payment Services (Amendment) Regulations 2024 were used; and what estimate she has made of the (a) number and (b) value of attempted authorised push payment frauds that were interrupted as a result.

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.