Today, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), marks another significant milestone in its fight to tackle fraud, as hundreds of additional financial firms adopt the name-checking service, Confirmation of Payee (CoP). This expanded rollout means that over 99% of all transactions made through Faster Payments and CHAPS are now safeguarded by this vital anti-fraud measure, offering consumers an important way to protect themselves from fraud. 

In just the first half of 2024, over £213 million was lost to Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud, where people are tricked into sending money to fraudsters posing as genuine payees. With CoP now widely in place, consumers can expect name checks to be the norm when sending money to new accounts, helping ensure their payments reach the right person or business. It’s essential that people remain cautious, vigilant, and responsive to warnings from their bank or payment provider when making payments. 

CoP is a Pay.UK service, and as the Payment Systems Operator, Pay.UK has created the rules and standards for CoP, supporting industry with its expansion. Mandating this widespread adoption of CoP is part of the PSR’s broader efforts to combat APP fraud. On 7 October, new mandatory reimbursement rules came into effect, making it quicker and simpler for victims of APP fraud to get back money they’ve lost to criminals, with a guaranteed minimum level of protection in place. These rules also incentivise payment firms to innovate and implement stronger fraud prevention methods. 

Kate Fitzgerald, Head of Policy at the PSR, said:  

“Confirmation of Payee has quickly become an essential anti-fraud tool. Since its launch in 2020, more than 2.5 billion checks have been completed. 

“We’re tackling fraud from multiple angles – ensuring widespread checks and safeguards, implementing strong reputational and financial incentives for industry action, and promoting better data and intelligence sharing. Expanding Confirmation of Payee to more firms is a crucial step in our ongoing work to protect consumers and drive fraud out of the UK’s payment systems.” 

Tackling fraud is a collective effort that extends beyond just payments. In addition to its annual APP fraud performance data, the PSR has been collecting data on how fraud starts. Later in 2024, the regulator will publish this data to raise awareness about the different ways fraudsters can target victims, including through social media platforms. By sharing this information, the PSR aims to raise greater consumer awareness and encourage wider accountability and action from other parties in the chain to prevent fraud from happening in the first place. 

ENDS. 

Notes to editors:  

  • UK Finance’s Half Year Fraud Report 2024 notes that losses due to APP fraud were £213.7 million in the first six months of 2024. Their report can be found here.  
  • Today we have also published a thought piece from Kate Fitzgerald, our Head of Policy, going into more detail about CoP and our work to tackle fraud. You can read this here.
  • In October 2022, we directed (through Specific Direction 17) nearly 400 firms to implement CoP. This was split into two groups – the first were required to implement CoP by 31 October 2023, and the second were required to implement CoP by 31 October 2024.  You can find more details about our CoP work and the firms in these groups here.  
  • Our recent announcement about our mandatory reimbursement rules can be found here.  
  • Our latest APP fraud performance data report can be found here.