The speed that makes instant payment apps such as Zelle and Venmo popular also makes them attractive tools for fraudsters. Bad actors defrauded nearly 18 million Americans through digital wallets and peer-to-peer (P2P) payment scams in 2020, for example.
There is currently much debate in the United States on who bears financial liability when instant payment fraud occurs. In the United Kingdom, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) intends to move forward with plans discussed last year to create regulations around mandatory reimbursement of losses from authorized push payment fraud.