PSA publishes 2018/19 Annual Report
The PSA has published its Annual Report for the 2018/19 financial year, including key financial and operational data, market insights and updates on the PSA’s activities regulating the phone-paid services market.
The phone-paid services market has grown by 17%, measured by revenues, since 2017/18. Growth has been driven by operator billing and services including games, music streaming, videos, books, film and charity donations.
There has been an increase in complaints from consumers, up 28.5% to 20,300. However, the report details action taken by the regulator to reduce the risk of consumer harm in the market, including a review of regulatory requirements for phone-paid subscription services, joint action with the mobile networks and independent security experts to ensure high security standards on payment platforms, and clearer expectations for Due Diligence, Risk Assessment and Control at all levels of the value chain.
The report also looks ahead to next year, when we anticipate actions such as these improving the consumer experience of phone-paid services, and work towards the development of a new Code of Practice for industry.