pay.uk confirms launch of confirmation of payee service in the UK

Earlier this week, on 8 June 2020, Pay.uk published a press release confirming the launch of the confirmation of payee service in the United Kingdom.

Pay.uk says that if a customer’s bank or building society is confirmation of payee enabled, the new service lets the customer know if the customer’s account name matches the recipient’s account name.

Pay.uk’s research suggests:

– 34% of consumers have in the past made bank or building society payments to a person using a nickname; and

– 37% of business brands also trade under a different name to that on their business bank or building society account.

It remains to be seen the extent to which confirmation of payee provides a real level of protection for customers making electronic payments.