Not upheld: scam reimbursement / fraud liability complaint against Monzo Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr S complained that Monzo Bank Limited failed to reimburse the full £3,500 he lost to a scam via two international transfers in November 2025. Monzo refunded 50% of the loss under the CRM Code, but Mr S sought full reimbursement. The ombudsman found that the disputed payments were not covered by the CRM Code or Faster Payments Scheme rules as they were international transfers. Applying the legal principle that firms must process authorised payments, the ombudsman determined that Monzo had no sufficient grounds to identify a fraud risk based on the account activity, as the payments were relatively low-value, international payments were not unusual on the account, and there were only two disputed transactions. The complaint was not upheld, and the ombudsman noted Monzo had already done more than required.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the legal starting position that a firm must process authorised payments in accordance with regulations and account terms. While firms should look for fraud risks in certain circumstances, Monzo was not required to intervene here because: (1) the payments were not unusual enough compared to Mr S's normal account activity; (2) although they were the highest-value payments in some time, they were still relatively low-value; (3) international payments were not unusual on this account; (4) making payments to new payees is not uncommon; and (5) there were only two disputed payments. The ombudsman found no sufficient grounds for Monzo to have identified a fraud risk.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website