TSB’s “fraud refund guarantee” will cover cases of unauthorised transactions on customers’ accounts as well as instances where customers are tricked into authorising payments to fraudsters.

UK banks have long been criticised for only refunding fraud losses in limited circumstances. Many people who are victim of “push” or “authorised” payment frauds, where they are tricked into approving payments to fraudsters, are denied refunds.

According to UK Finance, more than £1.2bn was stolen by criminals committing bank fraud last year. This includes about £354m of push payment frauds.

TSB executive chairman Richard Meddings said: “The vast majority of fraud claims across UK banking are from innocent victims of fraud, who have been targeted by criminals and organised gangs. However, all too often these customers must fight to be refunded and are not treated as victims of crime.

“We want to provide peace of mind to our customers, that’s why we’re proud to announce the TSB fraud refund guarantee. If a TSB customer innocently suffers a fraud loss on their account after being targeted by a criminal, we’ll cover it.”

TSB customers who are victims of fraud will need to report the crime to the bank by calling the number on the back of their card or 0800 096 8669. TSB will still investigate the fraud claim, including what happened and how it happened.

The bank has stated that it will not repay losses due to fraud committed by an individual on their own account, or if customers repeatedly ignoring account safety advice. TSB won’t refund losses for retrospective claims – only fraud losses which incurred on or after 14 April 2019.

Which? money editor Jenny Ross said: “For years, people have lost life-changing sums of money to increasingly sophisticated scams, and then faced a gruelling battle to get their money back.

“We know that banks are far better placed to spot and prevent scams than their customers. Today, TSB has rightly recognised this and stepped-up to take responsibility for refunding its customers across all types of fraud.

“Yet other high street banks are leaving their customers unprotected. All banks must now follow TSB’s lead and ensure that their own customers are not left paying for the cost of this crime.”