No, bank transfers over £800 will not be ‘automatically’ frozen for 24 hours

Social media posts claiming that from 1 October any bank transfer between individuals over £800 will be “automatically” blocked for 24 hours are false.

Viral videos claim the supposed new measure is part of a new “monitoring system” built by banks and HMRC.

Most banks already have systems in place for verifying suspicious payments, but these particular claims about a new universal system being introduced later this year are not true.

HMRC told Full Fact: “These claims are completely false and designed to cause undue alarm and fear.”

One version of the video, viewed more than 1.5 million times on Facebook, claims that transactions will be scanned “using advanced AI” to “check the source of your money, who it’s going to and why you’re sending it”.

Another claims the new measures were part of a government announcement “relayed by the Telegraph and BBC News”. It adds “if there’s any suspicion, your bank may contact you to provide documents, such as invoices, loan agreements, or proof of sale” and says “if you don’t respond, the transfer could be cancelled and flagged to tax authorities”.

Full Fact could not find any articles published by the Telegraph or BBC about any such plans.

Most banks have their own payment and transfer limits and verification measures in place to reduce the risk of money going to scammers or to the wrong account.

Banks may also delay or reject payments “considered unusual to the normal use of your account” and may refer them for further investigation.

This is because banks must comply with regulations to prevent financial crime, such as identifying and verifying customers, as well as protecting them from fraud and scams.

Last year the government gave banks new powers and extended the time that payments can be delayed where “there are reasonable grounds to suspect a payment is fraudulent and more time is needed for the bank to investigate” by 72 hours.

If a bank has reasonable grounds to suspect a payment is fraudulent it must inform customers when a payment is being delayed, and explain what the customer needs to do in order to unblock the payment. But freezes are not put in place automatically for all transfers over £800.

We have written several fact checks about supposed new government policies on cash withdrawals or purchases in recent weeks. These include false claims that purchases over £1,000 will be automatically reported to HMRC from 2026, and that taking out more than £420 in a single cash withdrawal will be reported to the government’s “anti-fraud unit” from September.

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