Statutory reimbursement framework introduced and CRM Code retired

The Payment Systems Regulator's statutory reimbursement framework came into force on 7 October 2024, and the Contingent Reimbursement Model (CRM) Code was retired on the same date¹. The regulator confirmed the change in an update to its CRM Code page¹.

The CRM Code was a voluntary, industry scheme. The PSR says it set up a steering group of industry and consumer representatives, led by an independent chair, in 2018 to develop it, and that the final Code came into force in May 2019¹. It set out standards for signatory Payment Service Providers, described by the regulator as a group including the largest banks in the UK, and for customers covered by the Code: consumers, micro-businesses and small charities¹. Its stated aim was to reduce both the occurrence and impact of authorised push payment (APP) scams, and to give people confidence that if they fell victim to one and had acted appropriately they would be reimbursed¹.

Oversight sat with the Lending Standards Board, which the PSR says provided oversight of the Code until 7 October 2024 to ensure its protections were applied by signatory firms¹. The PSR monitored how the Code operated and its impact on the number of APP scams, while the Financial Ombudsman Service handled dispute resolution between banks and customers on decisions under the Code, as part of its considerations into the individual circumstances of a complaint¹.

The PSR's page does not set out the detailed rules of the statutory framework, the reimbursement limits, or which firms it covers; those are not reported in this source¹. It also does not state what happens to complaints about decisions made under the Code before 7 October 2024¹.

Why it matters for households

From 7 October 2024, the protections that applied to customers of banks signed up to the CRM Code come from the PSR's statutory framework instead¹. The Code was voluntary and binding only on signatory firms; the framework is statutory, which changes the basis on which reimbursement for APP scams is considered¹. The groups the Code covered were consumers, micro-businesses and small charities, and the firms it covered included the largest UK banks¹.

The practical effect for anyone whose bank was a Code signatory is that the scheme they were covered by no longer exists as of that date, and the Lending Standards Board no longer oversees it¹. The Financial Ombudsman Service role described by the PSR relates to decisions under the Code, and the source does not say how disputes about decisions under the new framework are handled¹.

What happens next

The PSR's page records the retirement of the Code and the introduction of the statutory framework on 7 October 2024, and states that the Lending Standards Board provided oversight until that date¹. No further steps, transition arrangements or review dates are set out in this source¹.