Confirmation of Payee

Confirmation of Payee is a new way of checking account details to give customers and businesses greater assurance that they are sending payments to the intended recipient, helping avoid misdirected payments being sent to the wrong account as well as offering another important tool to help in the fight against fraud. A payee is the term used to describe the person or business that you are paying money to.

Typically, when a customer or business sets up a new payee or amends an existing payee’s details, Confirmation of Payee will enable them to confirm whether the details they have entered match the account of the person or organisation they are paying.

Confirmation of Payee will help customers check account details before they make a payment. Currently, only payments made via Faster Payments or CHAPS are required to be checked by Confirmation of Payee. Bacs payments, including Direct Debits, will not be subject to these checks for the time being.

Typically, when a customer or business sets up a new payee or amends an existing payee’s details, Confirmation of Payee will enable them to confirm whether the details they have entered match the account of the person or organisation they are paying.

Confirmation of Payee applies to domestic payments, so it will not affect inbound or outbound international transfers.

To ensure payments are correctly sent and received customers will need to:
• Provide the exact name registered to the account (typically a first name and surname) they are paying, as well as providing the exact same account details to an individual or business they wish to receive a payment from.
• Advise whether the payment will be received by, or sent to, a personal or business account.
• If paying a business, customers should ensure they follow any guidance given by a business and include the full business name or trading name.

Customers are advised to always give the exact name that is registered to their account. This may not be the name they use. They may habitually use a name that is different to the one registered to their account for example a maiden name, nickname or middle name.

Customers will be able to use Confirmation of Payee for payments sent to UK accounts which are identified by a sort code and account number.

All customers and businesses should follow the Take Five fraud safety advice:

Take Five

Criminals are experts at impersonating people, organisations and the police.

They spend hours researching you for their scams, hoping you’ll let your guard down for just a moment.

Stop: Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.

Challenge: Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.

Protect: Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud.

My money? My info? I don’t think so!

When a customer sets up a new payee or amends an existing payee’s details, they will be able to confirm the name they enter matches the name registered to the account of the person or organisation they are paying. Currently, only the sort code and account number are used to reference an account held by another financial institution. With the introduction of Confirmation of Payee, when a customer sets up a new payee or amends an existing payee’s details, that institution will be able to check if the name supplied matches the name it has on record.

There are four possible outcomes to the Confirmation of Payee check when a customer is making a payment:

Yes, match

If the customer used the correct account name, they will receive confirmation from their provider that the details match. The customer can then proceed with the payment.

No, close match

If the customer used a similar name to the account holder, (e.g. an abbreviated version of the original name or with a spelling mistake) they will be provided with the actual name of the account holder to confirm. It’s important to note that the account holder’s name registered to that account may not necessarily be the same name that is recorded on the corresponding bank card as different naming conventions may be used for card data.

If the customer recognises the name provided, they may opt to proceed with the payment. Alternatively, they will be able to update the details and check the name again or contact the intended recipient to confirm the details. Customers and businesses should always stop and think before ignoring a Confirmation of Payee response.

No match, check before proceeding further

If a customer enters details for the named account holder which do not correspond with the details held by the account provider, they will be told the details do not match. At this stage, it could be possible that the customer is being targeted by criminals and the payment is being requested for fraudulent purposes. The customer will not be able to see the actual name on the non-matched bank account.

Customers and businesses should always stop and make further checks if they do not get a match and confirm the account details of the person they want to pay by an alternative channel, e.g. a published telephone number on an official website, particularly if they have been asked to pay an amended or new account.

Further guidance on how to stay safe from fraud and scams can be found on the Take Five to Stop Fraud website.

Confirmation of Payee Unavailable

Where an account is not available through Confirmation of Payee, whether temporarily or otherwise, customers and businesses will be notified that the account is unable to be confirmed. Customers and businesses should follow guidance given by their account provider and may wish to take additional steps to ensure that their payment is being made to the correct payee, particularly if they have been asked to pay an amended, or new, account.

Customers and businesses should always stop and make further checks if they do not get a match, particularly where a payee advises or coerces them to proceed with a payment when the details do not match.

Situations where the name does not match could well be a fraudulent transaction, a scam or an error. Customers and businesses should not proceed with a payment if any of the details do not match. A customer should never feel embarrassed or reluctant to check if the payee name is correct. This could mean the difference between paying money to a correct account or into the hands of criminals.

We urge customers to follow the Take Five to Stop Fraud advice below:

Take Five

Criminals are experts at impersonating people, organisations and the police.

They spend hours researching you for their scams, hoping you’ll let your guard down for just a moment.

Stop: Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.

Challenge: Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.

Protect: Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud.

My money? My info? I don’t think so!

Businesses should consider using additional procedures for when they receive a close or negative match on a Confirmation of Payee request. It is possible that you are being targeted by criminals and the payment is being requested for fraudulent purposes. You should confirm the account details of the person you want to pay by an alternative method e.g. a published telephone number on an official website.

Customers should ensure they give the exact name that is registered to their account (typically a first name and surname) to anyone who needs to make a payment to them.

This may not be the name they use. They may habitually use a name that is different to the one registered to their account for example a maiden name, nickname or middle name.

Customers who hold joint accounts will only need to provide a single name registered to the account, however customers may choose to provide both names. The order that a name appears on an account will not affect the matching response.

It is also advisable for customers with names that have multiple spellings (e.g. Smith, Smythe, Smyth) to ensure the payer has the correct version.

The name registered to an account should be available in communications that customers have with their account provider and through their online or mobile applications. If a customer thinks they need to change the name their account provider has registered, or is unsure of the name registered, the customer should discuss this with their account provider.

At the beginning of August 2019, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) issued a specific direction to the UK’s six largest banking groups across all their brands1 (Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Santander UK) covering around 90 per cent of current accounts, to fully implement Confirmation of Payee by 31 March 2020.

A number of other institutions are expected to introduce Confirmation of Payee at a later date. In the meantime, if a receiving bank does not offer Confirmation of Payee then the paying customer will be advised that the recipient (or payee’s) account name is unable to be checked.

Banks and other financial institutions introducing confirmation of payee are currently in the process of communicating information about Confirmation of Payee to their customers via their usual communication channels. If a customer is unsure about how Confirmation of Payee will affect them or have any questions, they should contact their account provider.

Customers and businesses are advised not to respond to any communication concerning Confirmation of Payee that does not come from their account provider – customers are recommended to be cautious when clicking on links in any emails they receive, even if they seem to come from a genuine source. Confirmation of Payee will be expanded in time to include other accounts that use a reference number including savings accounts, mortgages and credit cards, as well as to Open Banking initiated payments.

At the beginning of August 2019, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) issued a specific direction to the UK’s six largest banking groups (Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Santander UK) covering around 90 per cent of bank transfers, to fully implement Confirmation of Payee by 31 March 2020.

The regulator provided the following instruction:
• From 31 December 2019: Directed banks must respond to Confirmation of Payee requests. From this date banks must have the capability to talk to each other. For example, a receiving bank must be able to notify the sending bank that there is not a match.
• From 31 March 2020: Directed banks must send Confirmation of Payee requests (as above) and notify the payer of the outcome – for example, if there was a name match or a mismatch, banks should notify the person making the payment.

Those institutions (including Bank of Scotland, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest, Nationwide, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank, Santander) and their individual brands will now be introducing Confirmation of Payee between January to March 2020.

Other institutions are working to bring in this important protection at the earliest opportunity.

Confirmation of Payee is a new way of giving customers greater assurance that they are sending payments to the intended recipient, helping them to avoid making accidental, misdirected payments to the wrong account holder, as well as providing another layer of protection in the fight against fraud.

Confirmation of Payee will not prevent fraud entirely but is one of a range of measures used by the industry to help combat fraud and the organised criminal groups responsible. These also include investing millions in sophisticated security technology, the Authorised Push Payment Scams Voluntary Code and the Take Five To Stop Fraud campaign in partnership with government.

Situations where the name does not match could well be a fraudulent transaction or a scam. Customers and businesses should not proceed with a payment if any of the details do not match. A customer should never feel embarrassed or reluctant to check if the payee name is correct. This could mean the difference between paying money to a correct account or into the hands of criminals. We urge customers to follow the Take Five To Stop Fraud advice. Customers should contact their account provider if they are concerned they may be, or have been, a victim of fraud.

Customers are the front line of defence against fraud and should ensure they keep their information up to date. They should always remember to stop, challenge and protect themselves, particularly when faced with:
• A ‘no match’ Confirmation of Payee response;
• Someone pressuring or coercing them to make a payment;
• Changes to account details;
• Payment requests from unknown persons;
• Someone changing their name or payment account.

More information on how to stay safe from fraud and scams is available on the Take Five website

While Confirmation of Payee will provide an extra level of reassurance to customers it does not automatically guarantee that a fraudulent payment will be detected and that the customer, if they fall victim to fraud, will be reimbursed.

When a customer or business sets up a new payee or amends an existing payee’s details, they will receive one of four possible responses that will, or will not, provide confirmation that the name registered to the account of the person or organisation they are paying is correct.

The matching decision is made by the intended recipient’s bank, as it has the best knowledge about the name of the person or business that is being checked. No matter what the outcome of the name check, the decision on whether to proceed with a payment rests with the sending customer.

Customers and businesses should therefore always stop and think before ignoring a Confirmation of Payee response and follow the Take Five To Stop Fraud advice when conducting any banking activity. Customers should contact their account provider if they are concerned they may be, or have been, a victim of fraud.

At the moment, Confirmation of Payee is focused on ”push payment” transactions, which are payments that are initiated and authorise from a customer’s account – typically internet or mobile payments.

Some firms are required to implement a Confirmation of Payee check for payments made to new recipients through Faster Payments or CHAPS. Faster Payments are used for the majority of UK customer-initiated payments within the UK. It is not expected that Bacs payments, including Direct Debits, will be subject to these checks for the time being, however customers may begin to be asked to use Confirmation of Payee for these payments. Likewise, it is not expected that payments to existing recipients and standing orders will be checked using Confirmation of Payee; however, account providers may, in time, begin to check the details of existing recipients with Confirmation of Payee.

No, the Payment Systems Regulator has mandated participating banks to implement Confirmation of Payee for the setting up of new payments and the amending of details for existing payments through Faster Payments or CHAPS. Payments to existing recipients and standing orders may not be checked using Confirmation of Payee although individual account providers may, in time, begin to check the details of existing recipients with Confirmation of Payee.

Confirmation of Payee provides a way of checking account details to give customers assurance that they are sending payments to the intended recipient. Most providers have a confirmation step within the payment journey where the customer can check the amount before approving it and we strongly advise that customers follow this process. If a customer transfers an incorrect amount, they should contact their provider immediately who will be able to advise on next steps.

Banks and other payment providers will use secure technology to safely exchange Confirmation of Payee requests. To be accredited to use Confirmation of Payee, companies must undergo rigorous security checks and also be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The banking and finance industry is committed to looking after every customer, especially those in vulnerable circumstances. Confirmation of Payee is being developed by account providers in line with their company policies on providing for these vulnerable customers and those with additional access needs. This includes integrating Confirmation of Payee within existing accessible channels and providing additional support, where necessary, for those who may struggle to use Confirmation of Payee.