Confirmation of Payee
What Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is, how the UK name-check scheme works, and how it compares to the EU's Verification of Payee under the Instant Payments Regulation.
What is Confirmation of Payee?
Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is the UK's account name-checking service. Before a payment is sent, it confirms whether the name a payer enters matches the name on the destination account, returning a match, close match or no match.
CoP was introduced to fight authorised push payment fraud and misdirected payments. The EU's Verification of Payee applies the same idea across the SEPA area under the Instant Payments Regulation.
The two schemes share a goal and a user experience but differ in geography, governance and technical rules — which matters for any organisation operating in both the UK and the EU.
Confirmation of Payee at a glance
The essentials of CoP.
UK scheme
CoP is the United Kingdom's account name-checking service.
Anti-fraud
Built to cut APP fraud and misdirected payments before sending.
Name match
Returns match, close match or no match for the payee name.
How CoP and VoP relate
Same idea, different geographies and rules.
- UK
Confirmation of Payee
The UK name-check scheme, live and widely adopted across UK banks.
- EU
Verification of Payee
The SEPA equivalent under the Instant Payments Regulation, from 9 October 2025.
- Both
Operating across regions
Firms in the UK and EU must meet both schemes' rules and coverage.
Why a payee name check matters
The value CoP and VoP share.
Less fraud
Warns payers before money leaves for a mismatched account.
Fewer errors
Catches mistyped or out-of-date account details.
More trust
Gives payers reassurance on every transfer.
Confirmation of Payee
Common questions about CoP.
Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is the UK's account name-checking service that confirms whether the payee name a payer enters matches the destination account before a payment is sent.
CoP is the UK scheme, while Verification of Payee (VoP) is the EU/SEPA equivalent introduced under the Instant Payments Regulation. They share the same goal but differ in geography, governance and technical rules.
CoP reduces authorised push payment fraud and misdirected payments by warning a payer when the name does not match the account, though it is one layer among several controls.
If you operate in both the UK and the EU, you need to meet both schemes. A provider like RoxPay can cover the SEPA VoP side through one integration.
Add a payee name check for SEPA
Talk to RoxPay about Verification of Payee — the EU equivalent of CoP — through one integration.