Verification of Payee · VoP

Know who you're really paying,
before the money leaves.

Verification of Payee (VoP) checks that the payee's name matches the IBAN in real time — so a SEPA transfer goes to the right person, not to a fraudster or a typo.

Built for the EU Instant Payments Regulation — free of charge for the payer, on every euro transfer.

EPC VoP Scheme SEPA / SCT Inst EU data residency GDPR compliant
9 Oct 2025 VoP mandatory for euro-area PSPs
< 1s Real-time name check
4 Standardised match outcomes
−70% Potential APP-fraud reduction
What is VoP

What is Verification of Payee?

Verification of Payee — also known as Confirmation of Payee — is a service that checks whether the name you entered for a payment actually belongs to the IBAN you're about to send money to.

Before the payment is authorised, the payer's bank asks the payee's bank: "does this name match this account?". The answer comes back in under a second, so the payer can decide whether to continue, fix a typo, or stop.

Under the EU Instant Payments Regulation, every payment service provider offering euro credit transfers must offer this check to the payer, free of charge. It is the single most effective defence against misdirected payments and authorised push payment (APP) fraud.

Read more: what is VoP

Four clear answers, every time

Match

The name matches the IBAN. Safe to send with confidence.

Close match

Almost right — the verified name is suggested so the payer can confirm or correct.

No match

The name does not belong to this IBAN. A strong signal to stop and double-check.

Not possible

The payee's bank can't verify right now. The payer decides whether to proceed.

How it works

From IBAN to verified payee in one request

VoP plugs into your payment flow through the EPC scheme and standardised APIs — no change to how your customers pay.

01

The payer enters the details

Name and IBAN are typed in or pulled from an invoice, exactly as in a normal transfer.

02

We ask the payee's bank

A secure request goes to the beneficiary's PSP through the VoP scheme to compare name and account.

03

A result in under a second

Match, close match, no match, or not possible — returned in real time, before authorisation.

04

The payer decides, informed

With a clear answer on screen, the payer confirms, corrects the name, or stops the payment.

Why it matters

Why Verification of Payee is so important

Instant payments are irrevocable: once sent, the money is gone in seconds. VoP is the safety check that happens just before that point of no return.

APP fraud
fraud prevention

Stop authorised push payment scams

Most scams trick people into sending money to an account they believe is genuine. A name mismatch exposes the deception before the transfer goes out.

0 typos
fewer errors

No more misdirected transfers

A single wrong digit in an IBAN can send funds to a stranger. VoP catches the mismatch instead of letting the money vanish.

Law
regulation

Instant Payments Regulation ready

EU rules require PSPs to offer this check on euro transfers, free for the payer. VoP keeps you compliant by the deadlines.

Trust
experience

Confidence at the moment of payment

A clear "name verified" reassures customers and reduces support calls, disputes, and chargebacks.

Who it's for

One check, value for everyone in the payment

01

Banks & PSPs

Meet the Instant Payments Regulation, join the EPC VoP scheme, and offer a verification service to your account holders through clean APIs.

02

Businesses & treasuries

Validate supplier and payroll IBANs in bulk before paying, and cut the risk of invoice-redirection fraud.

03

Payers & customers

A clear answer before sending money — reassurance that the transfer is going where it should.

FAQ

Verification of Payee, in plain terms

The essentials before you get started.

Yes, in the EU. The Instant Payments Regulation requires payment service providers that offer euro credit transfers to provide a payee verification service to the payer, free of charge. Euro-area PSPs must offer it from 9 October 2025; PSPs outside the euro area from 9 July 2027.

They are the same idea: checking that the payee name matches the account before a payment. "Confirmation of Payee" is the term used in the UK, while "Verification of Payee" is the term used for the European scheme governed by the European Payments Council (EPC).

No. The check is designed for instant payments and returns a result in well under a second, before the payer authorises the transfer. The payment experience stays fast.

When the name is almost right — a missing middle name, a legal vs trading name — the service can return the verified name as a suggestion, so the payer can confirm or correct without guessing.

No. VoP is informative: it gives the payer a clear answer, but the decision to send, fix, or stop stays with them. That is exactly why it is so effective against social-engineering scams.

The service only compares the name against the account and returns a match result — it does not expose the full account-holder details. Data is processed within the EU and in line with GDPR.

Add Verification of Payee to your payment flow

Talk to us about joining the EPC VoP scheme and going live before the regulatory deadlines.

✓ EPC VoP scheme · ✓ Real-time API · ✓ EU data residency · ✓ GDPR compliant