Extra confidence when paying-in with Confirmation of Payee
Confirmation of Payee (known as ‘CoP’) is one of the extra layers of protection that banks are using to address payment fraud. Most banks now use it and, put simply, it aims to make sure that your payments go to the intended recipient, rather than it being accidentally or fraudulently misdirected to a wrong account.
The Confirmation of Payee service does this by checking the account number, account type, name and reference details of the account receiving the payment (payee). This helps banks to warn customers if the details they’re entering might not be right, giving you extra confidence.
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You can only pay into your HTB account from a nominated bank account. So, when you’re setting-up your HTB account as a new payee with your nominated bank, the Confirmation of Payee service gives you reassurance that the HTB account details match our records.
To ensure payments are sent correctly from your nominated account to your HTB account, you’ll be asked to add:
- The name on your HTB account – this is the full name or business name on the account. Avoid using nicknames or a partial name. In the case of Joint Accounts, include at least one full name. Some businesses tend to have either a Registered name or Trading name.
- The sort code and account number, which you got at account opening.
- The account type – if it’s a personal or business account.
- A reference – this is an optional step and isn’t used by CoP, so you can use it for handy reminders.
Your nominated account’s bank will check these details immediately to check the details of your HTB savings account. You’ll then be able to see whether the details are a match, a partial match or no match – and to change the details (or to pause and get in touch if something doesn’t seem right).
All eligible customers have been ‘opted into’ the CoP service automatically.
You’ll be opted in unless you’ve requested to opt-out using our online form and we agreed. If you’re unsure whether you’re opted in or out, please contact us.
You can ask us to opt your HTB account out of the Confirmation of Payee service. In this case, the payer will receive a message that the details can’t be verified.
If you’d like to opt out, please complete our Confirmation of Payee options form and we’ll contact you within 10 working days with our decision. If your request is agreed, we won’t share your details with the Confirmation of Payee service.
Please give us as much detail as possible as to why you’d like to opt out of the Confirmation of Payee service, as we can only agree to opt-out requests in exceptional circumstances. If you have multiple accounts with us, please tell us all the accounts you’d like to opt-out. This form can be used by both Personal and Business account holders, including jointly held accounts with us.
If you’ve opted-out of the Confirmation of Payee service with us and wish to opt back in, you can do this by completing our Confirmation of Payee options form again and ticking the ‘Opt back in to CoP’ box.
If you have a complaint relating to Confirmation of Payee, please follow our complaints process here.