The government of the United Kingdom has published draft legislation that would allow payment service providers (PSPs) to delay outbound payments processing by up to four business days when they suspect fraud.
The delay will give PSPs more time to contact the customer or relevant third parties, such as law enforcement, HM Treasury said in a Tuesday (March 12) policy note.
This will amend the current rules, under which PSPs are required to credit the amount of the payment transaction to the payee’s PSP’s account by the end of the next business day, according to the note.
“This will be permissible only where there are reasonable grounds to suspect a payment order from a payer has been placed subsequent to fraud or dishonesty perpetrated by someone else (excluding the payer) and those grounds are established by no later than the end of the next business day following receipt of the payment order,” the policy note said.