Information for Private Banking clients

Frequently asked questions

What is Confirmation of Payee?

What is Confirmation of Payee?

Confirmation of Payee (CoP) helps you check you’re sending money to the right place. It’s a service being introduced by many banks that allows you to confirm that the name and account details you provide match with those of the account holder.

By introducing this service, we can help you avoid certain types of fraud as well as simple mistyping mistakes, giving you the reassurance that you’re paying the person you think you are. You should still do your own checks to protect yourself from Authorised Push Payment fraud.

How does the confirmation of Payee affect me?

How does the confirmation of Payee affect me?

Confirmation of Payee (CoP) will involve a new step in the process when you make a payment from your Investec bank account via Faster Payment Service or CHAPS. You will need to provide the full name of the account you want to pay, as well as whether it is a personal or business account, in addition to the account number and sort code.

You're also likely to see a CoP screen or message the first time you make a deposit into your Investec account. When you add your Investec account as a payee, make sure that the name you give your account provider matches the name you've given us.

How does Confirmation of Payee work?

How does Confirmation of Payee work?

When you set up a payment, the CoP service checks the account name, sort code, account number and account type (personal or business) you have provided.

The result of the check can help you decide whether to proceed with the payment. The result may be:

Match – the details you provided match the details on the account.

Partial match – the name is a close match, and we’ll show you the actual name on the account. You should then speak to the account holder to check, and you’re then able to choose whether to update the name to match the actual name and proceed with the payment.

No match – the name and account details don’t match, so you should contact the account holder to check. This could be a warning sign for fraud.

Unavailable – not possible to check, which may be because of a system error, the account doesn’t exist, the account holder has opted out of CoP, or their bank doesn’t offer CoP.

Can I opt out of the Confirmation of Payee service?

Can I opt out of the Confirmation of Payee service?

You can’t opt out of Confirmation of Payee when you’re making a payment to someone else. However, if you don't want us to confirm your account name, number and sort code to any other bank, you may be able to opt-out. Please contact your banker.