Open banking fraud trails UK payments benchmarks, OBL monitor says

Fraud in UK open banking payments remains below broader payments-sector levels by transaction volume, according to the first Open Banking Payments & Fraud Monitor published by Open Banking Limited. The report found that during 2025 about one in 6,000 open banking payments was fraudulent, compared with about one in 2,500 payments across the wider UK payments industry.

The figures give banks, fintechs and payment providers a new benchmark as use of open banking payments expands. OBL said the biannual monitor draws on data from account providers representing more than 60% of open banking payment volumes, and compares those trends with wider UK payments industry data.

OBL said fraud volume in open banking rose to 0.024% in the first quarter of 2026, higher than in the same period a year earlier. The organisation did not provide the prior-year percentage in the announcement.

Authorised push payment fraud accounted for more than two-thirds of open banking-related fraud cases, according to the monitor. In APP fraud, the payer authorises the transfer, but does so after being deceived, which can make detection and customer redress more complex than in cases where a payment is made without the account holder’s approval.

OBL said criminals are using more developed social engineering methods, including investment scams and impersonation scams. The monitor also points to emerging fraud journeys that seek to make the line between authorised and unauthorised fraud harder to distinguish.

Henk Van Hulle, chief executive of Open Banking Limited, said the data showed open banking fraud continued to compare well against wider industry measures, while also demonstrating that fraud tactics are changing quickly. He said collaboration, data sharing and prevention remained essential because fraudsters are adapting.

“Every fraud statistic represents a real incident that affected someone,” Van Hulle said. “Keeping those numbers as low as possible is a responsibility we all share.”

Data sharing remains a focus

The monitor highlights collaboration and information sharing as central to fraud prevention across the open banking ecosystem. It also cites Transaction Risk Indicators, known as TRIs, as tools that can support stronger detection and prevention.

TRIs are data points used within a payment journey to help firms assess whether a transaction may carry elevated risk. OBL did not provide detailed performance data for the indicators in the announcement, but said such tools can help the sector identify and address fraud more effectively.

The new publication builds on OBL’s previous reports on financial crime in open banking journeys. OBL said it will publish the Open Banking Payments & Fraud Monitor twice a year, creating a recurring measure of fraud trends as open banking payment adoption continues to grow.

The findings also place open banking fraud within a broader UK payments context. While open banking fraud rates remain lower than wider benchmarks by volume, the reported rise in early 2026 underscores pressure on providers to improve controls as criminal methods shift across payment channels.

This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.