From 7 October 2024, if you sent GBP from your Wise account to a GBP recipient in the UK that scammed you, you may be eligible for reimbursement.
These scams are known as authorised push payment (APP) scams.
What’s an APP scam?
An APP scam, also known as a bank transfer scam, is where you make a transfer from your balance to someone else's account.
APP scams are when you're tricked, manipulated, or deceived into making a payment and:
the recipient is not who you intended to pay.
For example, a fraudster impersonating us or someone else that you bank with to get you to transfer funds out of your account and into that of a fraudster.
the payment is not for the purpose that you intended.
For example, you are tricked into paying for goods or services from a supplier who does not exist or the items were never received.
If this happens then you may be able to make a claim for potential reimbursement.
Am I eligible to make a claim?
In order to file a claim for an APP scam the following conditions must be met.
If you’re not eligible, then check our general information on scams here.
| Condition | Details | Ineligible for reimbursement |
|---|---|---|
| 1. You have a GBP balance. | You must have a multi-currency account open with Wise. | SEND money transfers. |
| 2. You must have paid from your GBP balance to a GBP bank account that’s based in the UK. | For example, you sent GBP from your Wise account to a recipient's Barclays account in the UK, but they live in France. | Payments made to or from any currency other than GBP or an account held outside the UK. If you only use our money transfer service i.e. the payment was not made from a balance in your Wise account, you will not be eligible for a reimbursement. |
| 3. The GBP payment must have been sent locally via FPS or CHAPS. | - | Payments made to a GBP account outside the UK (International payments) or other payment schemes (Swift). |
| 4. You must be a personal customer, sole trader, a micro enterprise or charity. | For this regulation, a charity's total annual income must be under 1 million GBP annually. A micro-enterprise must employ fewer than 10 persons and must have an annual balance sheet less than 2 million EUR (approximately 1.7 million GBP) | Large businesses, or charities with an annual income over 1 million GBP. |
| 5. The payment must have been made on or after 7 October 2024. | This is when the regulation came into effect. | Any payments made before 7 October 2024 are ineligible. |
Here are some other ineligible payment types
Payments made using your Wise card – check here for more info
Payments made to another account that you control
Payments made to an account with a credit union, municipal bank, or a national savings bank (state-owned savings bank in the UK)
Payments that take place across other payment systems
E.g. you sent money to your crypto exchange account and then paid out to a fraudster from there
Payments made for unlawful purposes
E.g. purchasing illegal goods
Civil disputes
E.g. you paid a legitimate supplier, such as Amazon or Apple, for goods or services but haven’t received them, they’re defective, or you’re in some other way dissatisfied
Or, where you have paid a non-refundable deposit for goods or services but have changed your mind and would like the money back
How do I report an APP scam?
If your payment is eligible as an APP scam, then you should report this to us and to the police as soon as possible.
File a report to the police. You can do this on https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
Report it to us by selecting the transfer from your activity, clicking the question mark symbol "?" at the top right of the screen, and “I think I’ve been scammed”
You can select multiple transactions related to the scam while filing your claim so you only need to file a single claim.
Read more detailed steps on reporting fraud and scams here
We may ask for your permission to report the scam to the police on your behalf. If you don’t give us permission, this could affect whether you are entitled to a refund.
How long will this process take?
We aim to handle your claim within 5 business days. However, depending on the specifics of the case, it can take up to 35 business days for us to complete a thorough investigation.
During this time we may communicate with the recipient bank, police, other crime investigation agencies, and we may reach out to you for more information.
Please respond to our requests in a timely manner with as much information, details and transparency as possible so we can resolve your claim efficiently.
If we determine that you are eligible for a reimbursement we’ll put the money back into your Wise account.
How much will I be reimbursed?
We’re only able to reimburse you for the transactions in your claim that are eligible. When we close your claim we'll let you know which transactions we were able to reimburse and if there are any transactions which weren't eligible.
The maximum we can reimburse for a scam claim is 85,000 GBP.
Is there an excess fee?
We may deduct a 100 GBP excess fee on all eligible reimbursement claims. This fee helps us manage the costs of reimbursing customers while still offering this important protection.
For example, if you sent the scammer 450 GBP and were eligible for reimbursement, you'd receive 350 GBP after the excess has been deducted. If you sent the scammer 99 GBP, you wouldn't receive a reimbursement as the excess fee is greater than the amount you sent the scammer.
What if my claim is rejected?
Your claim may be rejected if we determine that any of the transactions are not eligible based on the criteria above. We'll explain the reasons why in the email that we'll send you after closing your claim.
We may also reject your claim for reimbursement if:
your transaction isn't eligible under the regulations
you didn't tell us about the scam within 13 months of the transaction
you are involved with the scam, or have been fraudulent or dishonest in relation to the claim and the information you have provided us
we believe that you have been grossly negligent when making the payment.
For example, if Wise or a competent national authority, such as the police, warn you or take steps to help prevent the scam, but you didn't take these into consideration when proceeding with the payment
I need extra help
We understand that being a victim of a scam can be distressing, and we’re committed to making this process as simple and supportive as possible.
If you have any concerns, or if you’ve disclosed a vulnerability that affects your ability to protect yourself from fraud please let us know. Our teams are trained to support you which can include removing the excess fee.
How do I protect myself from scams?
We understand that it may be easy to overlook warnings that pop up when making payments. However, these warnings are there to protect you from scams, which unfortunately can happen to anyone.
Our scam warnings are carefully crafted based on real threats and common fraud patterns. They can alert you to situations where something might not be quite right with the payment you’re about to make.
Learn more about staying safe and protecting yourself from scams when using Wise
And click here to visit the Take Five website to read about the national campaign to stop fraud