The UK’s largest banks have asked the prime minister to force BigTech companies like Meta to take some financial responsibility for the growing “fraud pandemic”.

In a letter seen by Sky News, chief executives at nine banks – Barclays, NatWest, Nationwide, Lloyds, HSBC UK, Barclays UK, Santander, Handelsbanken, and Starling Bank – wrote to Rishi Sunak, telling him that they want technology firms to contribute to refunds for those targeted by fraudsters on their platforms and to be involved in stopping scams at their source.

The banks also called for a public register to reveal scale of the "failure" of large tech firms in stopping scams.

In the letter, the banks said that they were considering taking action beyond government intervention, including methods like slowing down payments.

According to the Sky News report, they described this as a “useful but blunt instrument that will mean some customers and businesses will find their legitimate transactions held up”.

"Online fraud poses a strategic threat to the prosperity of the UK and impacts the credibility of, and confidence in, the economy and financial sector," wrote the banks. "This should not be seen just as an issue for the UK's banking sector."

The continued: "It is having a material impact on how attractive the wider UK financial sector is perceived by inward investors, which as we know, is critical for the health of the City of London and wider UK economy."

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