What is Confirmation of Payee?
Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is a name checking service which helps Payers to make sure that their payments reach the right recipient/ payees. From now on, when someone is making a payment to you, they will be able to check the name or organization you provide against the actual name held on your account. This helps give them the confidence that they are paying into your account and helps avoid misdirected payments sent to the wrong account.
Why is Confirmation of Payee being introduced?
CoP was introduced in the UK to help protect against Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud. These scams often involve tricking people into sending money to criminals, who are pretending to be someone who they are not. They can be made online, on the phone, or in person and most are completed instantly. CoP gives consumers and businesses additional protection to check that their payment is reaching the right recipient/ payees.
Confirmation of Payee will also give customers greater confidence that they are paying the right account. It will help reduce simple mistakes like mistyping account details when you set up a new payment.
How does it work? / Making a payment
Currently, we are rolling out Receive functionality. This means that people may perform a check on your name before making a payment to you. You will not yet be able to perform a check on the name of a person you are planning to pay. Look out for updates on when Send functionality will be introduced.
The CoP request process:
When someone is making a payment to you for the first time or amending the details of an existing Payee, they will now get to check the name they enter against the actual name on your account before initiating a payment:
The information they will need when making a payment includes:
∙ Your full account name including your first name and last name
∙ Sort code
∙ Account number (and account reference if needed)
∙ Account type – Personal/Business
Upon entering the details, they will now see one of three messages:
Match – the name check has been successful. They can safely make the payment to you.
Close / Partial Match – the name and account type they have entered are close to those held on your account. We’ll show them the actual account name to help them decide whether or not to continue with the payment.
No Match – the name entered doesn’t match the name on your account. They will be advised to contact you to ensure that the details provided are correct.
What happens when someone pays me?
Right now, we will be processing requests where you are the receiver. The person paying you will need to enter your account details and make a decision based on the CoP responses on whether to continue the payment or not. However, you can help ensure that there are no roadblocks in the process by following the steps below:
When receiving a payment, make sure that you provide the following details correctly:
- Make sure to provide the exact name registered on your account. Nicknames or shortened names may lead to Partial Matches or No Matches
- Make sure the person paying you selects to pay a business account not a personal account
- If you have a business account and trade under one name, but are registered under another, the account name you should provide is the one listed on your account.
How do I know where to find my exact account name?
Sole Trader
- Log into your Countingup app
- Click on the 'Explore' tab
- Under 'Your account', Click on “Your personal details”
Your account name is the name that appears first on this screen.
For sole traders, this will be your first and last name.
Limited Companies
- Log into your Countingup app
- Click on the 'Explore' tab
- Under 'Your account', Click on “Your personal details”
For limited companies, this will be the name that’s registered at Companies House.
How is my data kept secure/ Will my data be secure?
Banks and other Payment providers will use a highly secure system to safely exchange all CoP requests.
In order to be accredited to use the system, all Banks and Payment providers must undergo rigorous security checks and be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
Can I Opt out of Confirmation of Payee?
Yes – although you’ll be automatically opted in to the CoP service, Account holders are within their rights to opt out of CoP if they do not wish to take part in the service. When an opted out customer’s account is checked by a Payer, instead of returning a match, no match, partial match, a message stating that the account is not supported will be returned.
You can opt out by sending us a secure message via your app (make sure you’re on the latest app version). You may opt back into the service at any time.