Confirmation of Payee (CoP)

Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is a name-checking service designed to help protect you from fraud and payment mistakes when making payments through the Faster Payments Service.

Before you send a payment, CoP checks whether the recipient's name matches the account details held by their bank. This helps you confirm that the payment details belong to the person or business you intend to pay.

When you create a new payee or update an existing one, CoP verifies the recipient's name against their account number and sort code before the payment is completed.

#Your data security

To perform this verification, banks and payment service providers securely exchange the information needed to confirm whether the payment details match.

The CoP process includes robust security measures, and all participating banks are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

#How CoP works

When you create a new payment or update an existing payee, you provide:

• The recipient's name

• Their account number

• Their sort code

We compare these details with the information held by the recipient's bank and display the verification result before the payment is completed.

The verification is performed in real time and typically takes only a few seconds.

#Understanding your verification result

#Other verification results

You may also see messages such as:

• Invalid Customer Reference

• Account has been switched

• Account type not supported for CoP

• Opted out of CoP scheme

• IBAN not supported at endpoint

• Secondary Reference Data Required

• Service Unavailable

If you receive one of these responses, carefully review the payment details and confirm them directly with the person or business you are paying before proceeding.

#Important

A successful verification confirms only that the recipient's name matches the account details held by their bank. It does not guarantee that a payment is free from fraud or that the recipient is trustworthy.

Please note that account holders under the age of 13 cannot be matched through the CoP service.

Still need help? Our team is here to support you. Please contact us via the Chat with us option in your Viva.com account.