Authorized push payments (APP) fraud continues to bedevil the financial sector in the United Kingdom.
That’s according to the 2026 edition of Annual Fraud Report from UK Finance, which showed that criminals stole 1.28 billion pounds (about $1.7 billion) through payment fraud last year, a 4% increase.
“Fraud operates on an industrial scale, harming people, businesses and the U.K. economy, typically funding serious and organized crime in the U.K. and globally,” Ruth Ray, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance, said in a news release. “The financial sector invests huge amounts in protecting customers, but we cannot be the only line of defense.”
“[It] is clear we are not tackling the underlying problem effectively enough,” she added.
Nearly half of the losses came from APP fraud, in which a victim unwittingly authorizes a payment to a scammer, according to the report. APP fraud losses rose 19% to 576.4 million pounds (about $774 million), and the number of cases rose 7% to 248,070.
It’s a trend driven by “the abuse of online platforms and telecommunications,” the press release said, with 66% of APP cases beginning online, accounting for 32% of losses. Another 17% originate via telecommunications, usually involving higher-value scams and making up 28% of losses.
“Given most APP fraud still starts via online tech platforms or via telecoms, we urgently need stronger, enforceable responsibilities to be placed on these sectors,” Ray said in the release. “This is the way to reduce the harm and stop criminals and tech companies profiting from these devastating crimes.”
Meanwhile, there was a decline in impersonation fraud, in which criminals pose as a bank, law enforcement or an organization to convince their victims to transfer funds to a “safe” account, according to the release. Losses from these cases declined 12%, with the number of cases down 11%.
In March, the PYMNTS Intelligence report “How Enterprises Can Build a ’Know Your Agent’ Defense: Digital Identity Verification in the Age of Bots” identified a new crisis resulting from efforts by companies to defend against artificial intelligence-powered attacks. Legitimate users are being treated like threats.
Almost two-thirds of enterprises now report losing legitimate customers because identity checks create too much friction. At the same time, internal teams say onboarding abandonment related to verification roadblocks has risen to more than 60%.
