We are consulting on giving a specific direction for the implementation of Confirmation of Payee (CoP).
The PSR has always been clear that more needs to be done to protect people from Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams. CoP is an important tool to help prevent these scams and accidentally misdirected payments.
CoP is the industry-agreed way of ensuring that names of payment recipients are checked before payments are sent. It will work by checking whether the name of the account that a payer is sending money to matches the name they have entered. Alerts will notify the payer when there has not been a match, meaning corrections can be made before the payment is made.
We have also published the responses to our initial consultation where we proposed giving a general direction on the implementation of CoP.
Why are we consulting on this?
Our aim is to ensure CoP is introduced in a way that significantly reduces losses from APP scams and accidentally misdirected payments. This requires widespread introduction in a timely and coordinated manner. In November 2018, we consulted on giving a general direction for implementing CoP and, having reviewed the feedback provided, have revised our proposal as set out in this document.
We now propose giving a specific direction requiring the payment service providers in the six largest banking groups in the UK to implement CoP. Our proposed deadlines for introducing CoP are:
- From 31 December 2019: Directed PSPs must respond to CoP requests.
- From 31 March 2020: Directed PSPs must send CoP requests and present responses to their customers.
We are consulting to gather views on our proposed specific direction.
Who should read this document?
- We expect this consultation to be of interest to various parties including:
- Banks and other payments service providers
- Businesses involved in the transaction process
- Those who use FPS, CHAPS and other payment systems to send and receive money
- Consumer groups
- Other industry bodies
Next steps:
The consultation is open to receive feedback until 5 June 2019. Please send us your comments on the questions in this consultation paper.
You can email your comments to cop.consultation@psr.org.uk or write to us at:
Confirmation of Payee Consultation
Payment Systems Regulator
12 Endeavour Square
London E20 1JN