Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the draft Payment Services (Amendment) Regulations 2024, what steps they are taking to introduce legal safeguards to protect consumer rights and ensure transparency in the process of delaying payments for further investigation.

The government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is dedicated to protecting the public from this devastating crime.

The government has published draft legislation that allows the sending of payments to be delayed where there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud or dishonesty, and more time is needed to contact the customer or relevant third parties.

Subject to some exceptions to ensure Payment Service Providers (PSPs) meet other legal obligations, for example around tackling financial crime, PSPs will be obliged to inform the customer, set out the reasoning behind a delay, and what information or actions are needed to enable the PSP to decide whether to execute the payment.

The government intends to introduce this legislation in summer 2024 and, subject to Parliamentary approval, for it to come into force on 7 October 2024.