How UK APP reimbursement works for micro-enterprises

UK rules offer a route to reimbursement for some authorised push payment fraud, but their stated scope has clear limits. Reseated’s April data shows why small-business owners need to understand both the protection available and the risks that remain.

What happened

On 7 October 2024, the UK’s Payment Systems Regulator introduced a reimbursement requirement for certain authorised push payment fraud claims.

Under the UK scheme, eligible consumers, micro-enterprises and charities may receive up to £85,000 per claim; sending and receiving payment service providers share the cost equally.
The scheme excludes international payments.
A first-year evaluation reported that APP fraud fell by 21% and the share of claims reimbursed rose from 54% to 65%.

What it means for small businesses

Protection depends on the payment and claimant falling within the scheme’s scope; the £85,000 limit is not a guarantee that every business loss will be repaid.

The international-payment exclusion matters to businesses that pay or receive across borders: they should not assume that the UK arrangement covers those transactions.

Reseated’s reports document a wide spread of business fraud experiences, but they do not establish how common APP fraud is among all small businesses or predict an individual claim’s outcome.