Confirmation of Payee 

When consumers and businesses make a payment, Confirmation of Payee (CoP) shows them if the money’s going to the right account. Before they transfer the funds, they can verify that the name on the recipient account is the same person or business they intend to send the money to, so funds end up in the right place.

CoP plays a central role in protecting against certain types of Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud – if the name on the account doesn’t match, CoP highlights the risks. (Click to see a larger image.)

Firms that want to onboard CoP must agree commercial and legal terms with both Pay.UK and OBL.

We encourage early engagement with both us and Pay.UK to ensure you complete onboarding within your target timescales. If you are interested in participating in CoP you can find out more about the onboarding journey below (click to see a larger image).

To be able to sign up for the CoP service, organisations must be:

• An account-holding PSP – that is, accessible by a sort code and account number.
• PSPs regulated by the FCA or National Competent Authorities (NCAs), such as those in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man (Crown Dependencies).
  
  The service is also open to:
• PSPs that do not own their own sort code in the Extended Industry Sort Code Directory (EISCD).
• Organisations that offer accounts accessible through secondary reference data.

• Protect yourself and your customers against APP fraud and misdirected payments.
• If you don’t have CoP, customers are warned against paying money into your accounts – putting your reputation at risk.
• Customer uncertainty could result in a loss in deposits and revenues, with funds flowing to providers which offer CoP.