Open Banking fraud stays below wider UK payments rates

Open Banking fraud rates remained below those across the wider UK payments industry, according to new figures from Open Banking Limited. The data covered providers representing more than 60% of Open Banking payment volumes.

During 2025, about one in 6,000 Open Banking payments was fraudulent, compared with roughly one in 2,500 across the broader payments sector. The figures come from the first edition of the Open Banking Payments & Fraud Monitor, which outlines fraud trends as use of Open Banking continues to grow.

The report also showed an increase in overall fraud volumes in early 2026. Fraud volume reached 0.024% in the first quarter on an annual basis, up from the same period a year earlier, though this followed what Open Banking Limited described as a historic low point in 2025.

The findings suggest fraud remains comparatively limited in Open Banking by volume, but is changing in form. Authorised Push Payment fraud accounted for more than two-thirds of Open Banking-related fraud cases, making it the dominant category in the data.

Changing patterns

Banks reported a range of social engineering methods used by criminals, including investment, impersonation, and fake refund scams. The monitor also highlighted fraud journeys designed to exploit newer digital payment methods and blur the line between authorised and unauthorised fraud.

Investment fraud was one of the largest categories of Authorised Push Payment fraud by value. This suggests that while case volumes may be low relative to the wider market, losses can still be significant when victims are persuaded to send money directly.

The monitor draws on data from account providers that account for the majority of Open Banking payment traffic in the UK. This gives the study a broad view of fraud in Open Banking payment journeys, while allowing comparisons with wider UK payments industry benchmarks.

Open Banking has grown quickly in the UK and now supports more than 19 million active user connections and over 40 million payments each month. That scale makes fraud trends in the sector increasingly important for banks, fintech groups and regulators as they assess how newer payment methods perform against established channels.

Industry response

Collaboration and information sharing remain central to controlling fraud as attack methods evolve, the report said. It also pointed to Transaction Risk Indicators (TRIs) as one of the tools used to support fraud detection and prevention across the Open Banking system.

This reflects a wider shift in the payments market, where firms are under pressure to identify scam patterns earlier and intervene before customers send money. Authorised Push Payment fraud has become a particular concern because the transaction is approved by the payer, often after manipulation by a criminal.

For Open Banking, the lower fraud rate than in the broader payments industry may offer reassurance to banks and payment firms that have promoted account-to-account payments as an alternative to card-based transactions. Even so, the increase recorded in early 2026 underlines that lower relative fraud rates do not remove the need for stronger controls.

Henk Van Hulle, Chief Executive Officer of Open Banking Limited, addressed that tension in comments accompanying the figures.

"Fraud in Open Banking continues to compare favourably with wider industry benchmarks, but the data also highlights how quickly fraud is changing. Fraudsters are constantly adapting, which is why collaboration, data sharing and effective prevention remain essential. Every fraud statistic represents a real incident that affected someone. Keeping those numbers as low as possible is a responsibility we all share."

The publication builds on earlier reporting by Open Banking Limited on financial crime in Open Banking journeys. It is intended to provide a regular view of fraud trends in a market that is still expanding, where payment behaviour, scam techniques, and detection tools are all shifting simultaneously.

The latest data highlights a contrast between relative performance and absolute risk. Open Banking fraud remains below wider sector benchmarks in terms of volume. Yet, the concentration of cases in Authorised Push Payment fraud and the prominence of investment scams show that the most damaging forms of fraud continue to follow customers as they adopt newer payment methods.