Confirmation of Payee

What is CoP?

CoP is a name checking service designed to help protect you against fraud by verifying recipient account details before a payment is made via the Faster Payment Service. When you set up a new payee or make changes to an existing one, CoP service enables us to check the recipient's name, account number, and sort code against the information registered with the recipient's bank

Your data security

Banks and payment service providers confirm that new payment instructions entered by you match with intended recipient details by securely sharing information with each other. The CoP process includes thorough security checks, and all participating banks are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

How it works

When you set up a new payment, you will provide the name of the person or business you intend to pay. We will check this name against the account details held by the recipient’s bank and will provide you a confirmation response. The responses can be either Confirmation of Payee Matched, There may be a match on the account name, Account name does not match or something else.

What the different responses mean:

1. Confirmation of Payee Matched – The details you entered match exactly with the details used in the beneficiary’s bank account

All the details you entered are correct, and the recipient’s name matches you can proceed with confidence.

2. There may be a match on the account name – The beneficiary name you’ve provided doesn’t exactly match the name used in their bank account.

If the name is similar but has minor differences (like a spelling variation), we will advise you to double-check the details of the payee.

If you continue with your payment, you are accepting the risk that if the payment goes to the wrong account, we may not be able to get the money back.

3. Account name does not match – The beneficiary name you’ve provided doesn’t match the name used in their bank account.

When this happens, you need to contact the person or company you are trying to pay to confirm their details.

If you continue without updating the details, you accept the risk that if the payment goes to the wrong account, we might not be able to get it back.

4. Other responses

You might see other responses, such as Invalid Customer Reference, Account has been switched, Account type not supported for CoP, Opted out of CoP scheme, IBAN not supported at endpoint, Secondary Reference Data Required or Service Unavailable.

Please double check the payment details with the person or business you are paying if this happens. Note that account holders under the age of 13 are unable to be matched.

Opting out or Opt back in to the Confirmation of Payee (CoP)

You are automatically enrolled in the CoP service unless you choose to opt out.

You cannot opt out of CoP when making a payment to someone else, but you can ask to stop your details being checked when other people try to pay you. They will see a message saying that your details cannot be confirmed.

We use CoP to make sure your payment is not sent to the wrong account by mistake. It also helps us to protect you from fraud. If you would still like to opt out, please contact our Support Team via the “CHAT WITH US” function on your Viva Portal.

Please be aware that not all accounts can opt-out but if you can, we will let you know.

If you opt out and then decide you want to opt back in, please contact us via the “CHAT WITH US” channel on your Viva portal.