Verification of Payee vs Confirmation of Payee
Same idea, different schemes: both check that the name matches the account before money moves. Verification of Payee (VoP) is the EU standard; Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is the UK's. Here's exactly how they relate.
What each term means
Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is the name-checking service launched in the United Kingdom, run under Pay.UK rules, that tells a payer whether the account name they entered matches the account behind the sort code and account number.
Verification of Payee (VoP) is the European equivalent: a standardised, EU-wide name/IBAN check defined by the European Payments Council (EPC) scheme and made mandatory by the Instant Payments Regulation. Functionally they do the same job — only the geography, scheme rules and identifiers differ.
At a glance
| Verification of Payee (EU) | Confirmation of Payee (UK) | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | EU / EEA, SEPA area | United Kingdom (similar schemes exist elsewhere) |
| Scheme owner | European Payments Council (EPC) VoP scheme | Pay.UK |
| Legal driver | Instant Payments Regulation (EU) 2024/886 | UK regulatory & industry rules |
| Account identifier | IBAN | Sort code + account number |
| Outcomes | Match, close match, no match, not possible (standardised EU codes) | Match, close match, no match |
| Applies to you if | You send or receive euro credit transfers in the EU | You operate payments in the UK |
Are they the same thing?
Conceptually, yes — both confirm the payee name behind an account before a payment is authorised, to fight misdirected payments and APP fraud. If you operate in the EU, the term and scheme that apply to you are Verification of Payee. If you also serve the UK, you'll meet Confirmation of Payee there.
FAQ
They are the same concept — checking that a payee's name matches their account before a payment is sent — implemented under different schemes. Verification of Payee (VoP) is the EU standard under the Instant Payments Regulation and the EPC scheme; Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is the UK's, run under Pay.UK.
Verification of Payee. Every PSP offering euro credit transfers in the EU must offer a free VoP check before the payer confirms a payment, with staggered deadlines for the euro area (Oct 2025) and non-euro Member States (Jul 2027).
Only for the markets you serve. If you process EU euro payments you need Verification of Payee; if you also operate in the UK you need Confirmation of Payee. RoxPay focuses on EU VoP and can advise on multi-scheme coverage.
RoxPay is built around the EU Verification of Payee scheme (requesting and responding). Talk to us about your footprint and we'll help you cover the schemes that apply to your payments.
Get Verification of Payee right for the EU
One API for requesting and responding VoP, compliant with the Instant Payments Regulation.