What does the bank check before you approve?
Verification of Payee (VoP) is required by EU Regulation 2024/886 on instant credit transfers in euro. As soon as you enter the IBAN and the payee's name, your bank asks the payee's bank whether the two belong together. You see the result before you can approve. Banks in euro-area countries have had to offer this since 9 October 2025, free of charge.
The check covers standard and instant credit transfers in euro, whichever channel you use. Direct debits are not covered. If you hand in a paper order at a branch, the check is done while you are there. In EU countries outside the euro area, banks must offer the check by 9 July 2027.
What do the four results mean?
Your bank decides how the results are worded and displayed. The European Central Bank lists them as ‘match’, ‘close match’, ‘no match’ and ‘other’. The European Payments Council's scheme also provides for the case where the check is not possible.
| Result | What your bank tells you | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Match | Name and IBAN belong together. | Approve if the reason and amount are right. |
| Close match | The name actually held for that account. | If it is clearly the person or business you mean, correct the name. Otherwise stop and ask. |
| No match | The money could go to an account not held by the payee you named. | Do not approve. Confirm the details through a contact you already know. |
| Check not possible | The check could not be carried out, so the details are unconfirmed. | Treat it like a mismatch if the account details are new. |
Tip: A match only confirms that name and account belong together. It says nothing about whether an invoice is genuine or the person honest.
What does a warning look like in real life?
Fictional example: Siobhán in Cork finds a flat online for €1,150 a month. The ‘landlord’ says he is working abroad, asks for a €1,200 deposit before any viewing and sends an IBAN in the name of Patrick Doyle. Her banking app returns ‘no match’.
He replies that the account is his wife's, the warning is normal, and she should pay before someone else takes the flat. Siobhán stops and asks for a viewing and a written tenancy agreement first. The replies stop. She reports the advert and sends nothing. The check proved nothing, but it made her pause when the pressure was highest.
When is a mismatch harmless, and when is it a warning sign?
Many warnings have simple causes: a typo, a missing middle name, a nickname or an abbreviation. For businesses, the European Commission confirms you may enter either the trading name or the legal name. For joint accounts, the bank may show only one holder's name in a close match.
Signs that call for a call-back
- The account details are new and arrived by e-mail, text or chat.
- The name shown does not fit the payee at all.
- Someone hurries you or tells you in advance that the bank's warning is normal.
- You only know the person online.
When these signs come together, even a match settles nothing: a fraudster can use an account in their own name and give you exactly that name. For invoices sent by e-mail, see Unexpected invoice by e-mail.
How do you check a payee independently?
- Cancel the payment before you approve it.
- Find the contact details yourself: the contract, an earlier invoice, a letter or a website you open yourself.
- Call the payee or speak to them in person. Do not reply to the message with the new details; Switzerland's federal cyber security office gives the same advice.
- Ask for the exact name on the account and read out the IBAN you have.
- Enter the confirmed details again and let the check run once more.
Tip: Ask your landlord, tradespeople or club to confirm any change of bank details by letter or phone as well.
What is different about instant transfers?
Instant transfers reach the payee within 10 seconds, around the clock. Since 9 January 2025, banks in the euro area may not charge more for them than for a standard transfer. Because the money arrives within seconds, the name check is your last chance to spot a mistake before it leaves your account.
On request, your bank must let you set a limit for instant transfers, per day or per transaction, and you can change it at any time. If an order exceeds it, the bank does not execute it. Read the payee's name as carefully as the amount; Approval requests in your banking app explains what to look for.
Who is liable, and where can you get help?
If your bank ran the check correctly and warned you, it is not liable when you approve anyway and the money goes to the wrong person. If it failed to run the check and the transfer went wrong as a result, it must refund you without delay. For your specific case, ask your bank and, if needed, a consumer adviser. If you have already paid, Money sent to a scammer walks you through the first hours.
| Country | Name check required? | If you suspect fraud or have paid |
|---|---|---|
| Germany and Austria | Yes, since 9 October 2025 | Call your bank at once and report it to the police. |
| Switzerland | No; the Commission says euro transfers between Switzerland and the EU are also outside the rules | Contact your bank at once so it can try to stop the payment; report it to the police and through the federal cyber security office's online form. |
| France | Yes, since 9 October 2025 | Contact your bank and file a complaint with the police or gendarmerie; the 17Cyber service offers guided help. |
| Italy | Yes, since 9 October 2025 | Tell your bank at once. If it rejects your complaint, you can turn to the Arbitro Bancario Finanziario. |
| Spain | Yes, since 9 October 2025 | Contact your bank. INCIBE's free helpline 017 is open daily from 8:00 to 23:00. |
Common mistakes
- Dismissing the warning because the payee said beforehand it would appear.
- Treating a match as proof. It confirms name and account, not the reason for paying.
- Calling the phone number given in the same message that contains the new bank details.
- Typing nicknames or shop names and then assuming every warning is a typo.
Your checklist
The checkboxes are for your own reference. No entries are sent to us. To keep a copy, print the page or save it as a PDF using your browser menu.
Common questions
Can I still pay after a ‘no match’ warning?
Yes. The check must not stop you from approving; the decision stays with you. But the risk shifts to you: a bank that ran the check correctly and warned you is not liable if the money lands in someone else's account. Approve only once you have confirmed the details through a second, known channel.
Does Verification of Payee cost anything?
No. Under the EU regulation, banks must provide the check free of charge to all customers, for standard and instant transfers in euro. Instant transfers themselves may not cost more than standard ones in the euro area since 9 January 2025. Other fees depend on your account package, so check your bank's price list.
What happens when I pay to Switzerland or the UK?
The European Commission states that transfers to banks in non-EEA SEPA countries such as Switzerland and the UK fall outside the EU rules. Your bank is not required to run the name check for them, so you may get no result. Confirm new account details by phone before paying, especially for deposits or invoices sent by e-mail.
Sources and further information
Primary sources from public authorities, consumer organisations and providers. A source may be in another language; follow the guidance that applies to your service and where you live.
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2024/886 on instant credit transfers in euro, Articles 5a to 5cSource review date:
- European Central Bank: Instant Payments Regulation, dates and verification of payeeSource review date:
- European Commission: Questions and answers on implementing the regulation (PDF)Source review date:
- European Payments Council: Verification Of Payee schemeSource review date:
- INCIBE (Spain): Cybersecurity helpline 017 (Spanish)Source review date:
- Swiss federal cyber security office: Business E-Mail CompromiseSource review date:
- 17Cyber (France): help for victims of cybercrime (French)Source review date:
- Banca d'Italia (Italy): payment fraud and cyber security, incl. the Arbitro Bancario Finanziario (Italian)Source review date:
