What is Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud?
Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud is the most common type of financial scam in the UK.
It typically involves a criminal convincing a victim to authorise a payment to them through their bank or a payment service provider. While it mostly impacts consumers, it can also happen to business professionals.
To help our customers stay safe, when you add a new beneficiary or pay a new recipient in the BVNK platform, you’ll see a message prompting you to consider if the payee is legitimate.
We continually monitor transactions to identify any potentially fraudulent activity, and may contact you from time to time to confirm a transaction.
Reimbursement of scam payments for BVNK customers
As part of new UK requirements on APP fraud which come into effect on 7 October, BVNK’s small business customers are entitled to be reimbursed for APP scam payments to the value of £85,000.
If you’re a small business and think you’ve been a victim of APP fraud while using BVNK, you may be eligible for a refund, if:
- The scam payment was made through the BVNK platform
- It was made in GBP via the Faster Payments scheme
- The recipient was a third party
- Your business has less than 10 employees and net assets/revenue under €2 million.
How to Claim
Reach out to us appclaims@bvnk.com.
Once we receive your email, this is what you can expect:
1. Acknowledging the claim
- On receiving a transaction claim (whether due to an error or suspected fraud), BVNK will send an automated message within 30 minutes, informing you that your dispute has been received and is under review. This acknowledgement will provide details of any additional information you need to send (eg. further evidence).
2. Investigating the claim
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Initial assessment: BVNK will conduct an initial assessment to determine whether the dispute is related to an error (eg. incorrect amount, duplicate charge, unauthorised charge) or suspected fraud.
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Information gathering: BVNK will collect all relevant information, including transaction details, customer-provided evidence, and internal system records. Where necessary, BVNK will collaborate with external partners or service providers to gather relevant transaction data.
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Fraud detection: If fraud is suspected, the investigation will include a review of any potential security breaches or unauthorised access. Additional layers of fraud detection tools (eg. IP addresses, device identification) will be utilised to assess legitimacy.
- Impartiality: All disputes will be investigated impartially, and BVNK will ensure that any investigations are fair (managing any conflicts of interest) and consider the customer’s claims alongside transaction records and any other relevant information.
3. Resolving the dispute
- Error-related resolution: If the dispute is due to an error (eg. incorrect billing or processing), BVNK will take immediate steps to rectify the issue. This may include reversing the erroneous transaction or issuing a refund within defined local timeframes.
- Fraud-related resolution: If fraud is determined, BVNK will promptly notify you, take action to secure your account (eg. changing login credentials or disabling compromised cards/accounts), and process a reversal or compensation where applicable.
- Final response: BVNK will provide you with a final response, clearly explaining the findings of the investigation, the decision made, and any corrective actions. This response will be communicated in a way that is fair, clear, and not misleading.
- Timeframes: We aim to issue the final response within 24 hours, though it can take up to 10 days. If the investigation cannot be completed within these timeframes, we’ll inform you of the delay and provide you with an updated resolution timeline.
4. Collaborating with third parties
- Third-party responsibility: If BVNK believes that another third party (eg. a payment processor or partner) is solely or jointly responsible for the transaction error or fraud, BVNK will endeavour to forward the dispute to the third party. You will be promptly informed of the referral, including contact details for the third party.
- Shared Responsibility: If BVNK and a third party share responsibility, the final response will include a clear explanation of BVNK’s obligations and actions related to the part of the dispute it is responsible for.
6. Recording and reporting claims
- All claims and their handling will be recorded accurately and promptly in Zendesk. BVNK will ensure that disputes are documented securely, following record retention policies.
- Documentation will be used to identify trends in dispute types and inform service improvements, with the goal of preventing future errors or fraudulent activity.
7. Follow-up and customer feedback
- After a resolution is reached, BVNK will contact you to gather feedback on the claim-handling process. The goal is to ensure you’re satisfied and gain insights into potential improvements in handling future disputes.
8. Root cause analysis and prevention:
- BVNK will regularly perform root cause analysis on disputes to identify recurring issues or systemic problems related to its products or services. The findings will be used to implement preventive measures, ensuring that transaction errors or fraud cases are reduced in the future.