APP scams and accidentally misdirected payments can cause significant harm to consumers. Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is a service that aims to prevent certain types of scams and misdirected payments from happening. Making sure everyone has the same levels of protection and confidence when making payments continues to be a key priority for the PSR.
Date Published: 21 May 2021 Closing Date: 30 June 2021
Why we are publishing this document
We want payments to work safely and securely for consumers. In August 2019, we issued Specific Direction 10 (SD10) (varied in February 2020), directing the UK’s six largest banking groups to introduce Confirmation of Payee (CoP) for Faster Payments and CHAPS transactions. In July 2020, we confirmed that implementation was widespread. Several other PSPs have also voluntarily joined the service since then. We call this Phase 1 of CoP.
Our work in this area has continued and we have also been looking at ways of significantly reducing APP scam losses through improved prevention and reimbursement and published a call for views in February 2021.
In this document, we outline the findings of our analysis of the impact of Phase 1 of CoP and the feedback received on the upcoming roll out of Phase 2 which will enable more Payment Service Providers (PSPs) to join CoP. We also set out potential policy options to enhance the service and deliver increased implementation across a greater number of PSPs.
What this document contains
This publication sets out the findings of our analysis of the impact of Phase 1 of CoP and the feedback received to date on Phase 2.
We are inviting all interested parties to provide:
- their views on the impact and progress of CoP so far
- their views on the progress, dependencies and expected costs and benefits of Phase 2.
- feedback on whether certain types of accounts with using secondary reference data to direct payments to their customers, such as accounts in building societies and credit card accounts, should be excluded from the scope of Phase 2 and whether alternative solutions are more appropriate to secure the benefit of CoP.
- their views on how CoP messaging works and how it could be enhanced.
We also outline a number of policy responses that we could take to enhance CoP and ensure broader participation in the service. These include options such as issuing a further direction mandating PSPs to implement Phase 2, bringing about improvements to the CoP service, and the future of SD10.
We welcome feedback on these points, including any evidence or information on their viability, effectiveness, proportionality, or how they should be developed.
Who should read this document
This document is mainly relevant to the payments industry, consumer groups and PSPs, particularly those already involved in our work on APP scams.
What happens next
The call for views is open until 5pm on 30 June 2021. You can email your comments to COP@psr.org.uk or write to us at:
CoP team
Payment Systems Regulator
12 Endeavour Square
London
E20 1JN
We will then consider all the responses we receive to help shape our response and next steps.
