What is Confirmation of Payee and how does it work?
Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is a service which has been designed to confirm if a payment is being sent to the right person and will alert you if something is wrong. CoP was originally designed to target Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud where a victim is scammed into sending a payment to a criminal. From 31st October 2024, all financial institutions that make or receive electronic payments, must be part of this service.
When you make an electronic payment to or out of your account with us, a CoP check will be conducted to check that the name and account details match to that that of the destination account before making this payment. There are 3 possible outcomes you may see when a CoP Check is conducted:
- Match: this means the account information matches the information provided.
- No match: this means the account information does not match the information provided. We will ask you to re-check the information or cancel the payment.
- Close match: this means some of the information matches. For example, the surname might match, but the first name may be Jon instead of Jonathan. You will need to review the information and decide whether you are happy to proceed.
- Account not found: this is where the destination account does not exist. In these circumstances the payment will not be made, and we will ask you to re-check the information.
CoP is designed to protect your money from falling into the hands of criminals and going to the wrong account. Choosing to opt out means that your name will not be checked when someone tries to make a payment into your account with us. Not being able to have your name checked could mean that a payment goes to an incorrect account, and we may be unable to return the money.
If you’d like to opt out, you’ll need to contact us and we will take some information from you and the reason why you want to opt out. We will then review your request and the reason(s) you’ve given for wanting to opt out and let you know the outcome within one month. Opting out will only apply to accounts with us, you will need to contact any other banks and building societies to opt out of their accounts.
Our aim is to protect the money you hold with us, as such, we will only allow opt out requests in exceptional circumstances.
If you have opted out of CoP, you can opt back in at any time by contacting us.
Realising you have been scammed or discovering fraudulent activity on your account can be unsettling. But don't worry, we're here to support you as much as possible. We understand that being scammed can be distressing, but you're not alone.
First things first, take a deep breath. While it's natural to feel anxious, staying calm is key to resolving the situation efficiently. Acting swiftly is crucial to minimise any potential losses.
Now reach out to us, our dedicated support team are here to assist you every step of the way. Give us a call on 0344 481 4444 and we'll guide you through the process of securing your account and investigating any transactions.