Fraud reimbursement scheme

On 7^th October 2024, the Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud reimbursement scheme came into force. The scheme was introduced by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) which mandates bank and payment service providers must reimburse charities that are victims of APP fraud or Clearing House Automated Payment System Fraud up to £85,000 unless they can prove that the charity was ‘grossly negligent’.

This scheme is only available to small charities (income of less than £1m per year) and match the definition of a charity under the Charities Act 2011, Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 or the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008.

Very few charities are aware of the scheme

This reimbursement scheme covers over 95% of charities across the UK but very few are aware of this. It is important that knowledge of the scheme is shared as many small charities that become victims of fraud are put into financial difficultly as a result with some even being forced to close.

If you would like to find out more about the APP fraud reimbursement scheme please visit: https://www.psr.org.uk/media/th4jea5a/ps24-5-app-scams-chaps-reimbursement-sept-2024.pdf

How can we help?

At Hawsons our accountants recognise that not-for-profit organisations have very different requirements from other businesses and are currently exposed to a challenging economic climate.

Our dedicated team of charity accountants fully understands the complex, ever-changing regulatory requirements of the charity and not-for-profit sector. Irrespective of your size we wish to support you to maximise the benefits you could achieve through our specialist professional advice.

Charities & not-for-profit organisations are currently facing extensive changes in their regulatory and legal framework. Given the additional pressures on fundraising, complex tax regimes, internal risk exposure, and stakeholder demands, it has never been more important to obtain specialist professional advice.