What is Confirmation of Payee and how does it work?
Confirmation of Payee is a name checking service. When you set up a new payment or amend an existing payee, a check will be made on the name of the person or organisation, along with the account type, you provide against the details held for that payee by their bank.
It is important to note that Confirmation of Payee is a pre-payment check. Once the name has been checked, you will still have to instruct the payment to be made as a final step.
The check will return one of the following responses:
- It's a match
You will receive an on screen confirmation that all of the details match. - It’s a close match
The name of the account or the account type you are paying doesn’t exactly match what you have provided. You can contact the recipient to confirm the details before making the payment or update the details to those provided by the payee bank. - It’s not a match
Contact the person or business you are trying to pay to confirm the correct details. - Unavailable
There may be occasions where the Confirmation of Payee service is unavailable. In this instance, it’s important you contact the payee to confirm the details are correct before continuing. - This account can't be checked
There will be occasions where the payee can't be checked, for example, if the account holder’s bank doesn’t support the service or hasn’t registered for Phase 2 yet. During the transition period you may not be able to check the name of a payee whose account is held by a Phase 1 participant. In this instance, it’s important you contact the payee to confirm the details are correct before continuing.
When checking payment details, it’s important to contact the person or business on a phone number you trust. Never call a phone number from an email or text message exchange, which can be faked by the criminal to trick you into believing it’s genuine.
Never be pressurised into continuing with a payment when the details don’t match or where the account cannot be checked.