What Is a Confirmation of Payee and How Does It Protect You?
Confirmation of Payee: Verifying Who You're Paying
Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is a name-checking service that verifies whether the name on a bank account matches the sort code and account number you've entered before you make a payment. Introduced in the UK in 2020, it directly targets invoice fraud and misdirected payments.
How CoP Works
When you set up a new payee or make a payment to an account you haven't used before, your banking app checks the payee name against the name registered to that sort code and account number in real time. The response tells you one of three things:
- Match: The name you've entered exactly matches the registered account holder — proceed with confidence
- Close match: There's a near-match (often a minor spelling variation) — review carefully before proceeding
- No match: The name does not match the account — do not proceed without calling the intended recipient on a known number to verify their bank details
What CoP Prevents
CoP directly combats two major fraud types: invoice fraud (where criminals intercept emails and substitute their account details) and APP fraud (where fraudsters provide convincing but fraudulent account details). It also catches genuine mistakes — typing errors in account numbers that would otherwise misdirect legitimate payments.
Limitations of CoP
CoP only checks the name — it cannot verify whether the account holder is a genuine business or whether you intended to pay that specific person. If a fraudster has set up an account in a name matching the entity you're trying to pay, CoP will show a match even though fraud is occurring. Always verify large payments through a second channel.
Which Banks Participate?
CoP participation is now mandatory for larger UK banks and many building societies. Most major retail banks participate, including the Big Four, Monzo, Starling, and Nationwide. Coverage is expanding progressively to smaller institutions.
