The UK Government is to introduce new legislation to protect access to cash and to require banks to refund victims of authorised push payment fraud.
The new Financial Services and Markets Bill, announced in today’s Queen’s Speech at the state opening of parliament, will "ensure the continued availability of withdrawal and deposit facilities across the UK, and that the country’s cash infrastructure is sustainable for the long term".
The Bill will also enable the Payment Systems Regulator to require banks to reimburse authorised push payment (APP) scam losses, totalling hundreds of millions of pounds each year.
Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen says: “We know that access to cash is still vital for many people, especially those in vulnerable groups. We promised we would protect it, and through this Bill we are delivering on that promise.
"We are also sticking up for victims of financial scams that can have a devastating impact, by ensuring the regulator can act to make banks reimburse people who have lost money through no fault of their own."
The Bill builds on the Financial Services Act 2021, which was the first step in amending the UK’s regulatory regime outside of the EU.
Glen says more details on the proposed measures will be available when the Bill is formally introduced.