Pay.UK, the independent, not-for-profit operator of the UK’s national retail payments system, is expanding ‘Confirmation of Payee’, significantly bolstering protection for UK consumers against Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud and misdirected payments.
Pay.UK’s name-checking service, Confirmation of Payee (CoP), already boasts significant success, having processed over 2.5 billion checks as of September 2024 and conducting over 2.1 million checks daily. By expanding the service through industry collaboration, CoP is expected to increase daily check volumes by seven per cent, mirroring the growth in faster payments transactions.
This expansion also represents a 200 per cent increase in coverage since the mandate was issued. It is a key component of Pay.UK’s Fraud Programme, which aims to provide a robust and multi-layered defence against payment fraud, benefiting UK consumers and businesses, regardless of who they bank with.
Kate Frankish, chief business development officer at Pay.UK
Kate Frankish, chief business development officer and anti-fraud lead at Pay.UK, said: “This latest expansion, driven by collaboration with the industry, significantly strengthens our collective defences against fraud. By simplifying access for PSPs, we’re ensuring that everyone can benefit from this crucial layer of protection.
“This is not just about reacting to fraud, it’s about proactively building a more secure payments ecosystem for the UK. While reimbursement is important, true progress lies in preventing fraud from happening in the first place, and CoP is a powerful tool in achieving that goal.”
This expansion builds upon CoP’s existing success in combating fraud. Industry data from UK Finance shows a decline in fraud in 2023, coinciding with the widespread adoption of CoP. With the PSR’s new mandatory reimbursement framework for APP fraud coming into effect in October 2024, the focus on preventative measures like CoP is more critical than ever.
The success of CoP is also gaining international recognition, with countries like Australia, New Zealand, and those within the EU exploring similar solutions.
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