A layer of protection when you're sending money to a BSB and account number.
Know who you're paying - before you pay
Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is an industry-wide service and an initiative of Australian Payments Plus (AP+) which is planned to go live later this year.
Confirmation of Payee is an industry-wide service that matches the bank account details entered by a payer with the account details held by the recipient’s bank and displays a match outcome to the payer.
Confirmation of Payee will be available in 2025 to help safeguard people and businesses from fraud, scams and mistaken payments.
When you’re sending money to a business or person using their BSB and account number, Confirmation of Payee will check the account details you’ve entered with the account details held by the recipient’s bank and let you know the what the match outcome is.
Means the account name you entered matches the account.
Means the account name you entered is a close match to the account. You should check the account details.
Means the account name entered does not match the account. You should check the recipient details as an incorrect payment may be difficult to retrieve.
Means we were not able to check the account details with the intended recipient. Account name won't be matched, verified or checked with the BSB and account number.
Using this information, you can choose whether you want to go ahead and make the payment, pause and check the details again – or stop the payment altogether.
When a person pays you, their bank may also use Confirmation of Payee to validate your account details. To avoid confusion, it's important to pass on your correct Account Name when providing your BSB and account number. To protect your privacy, this will not happen where the account details entered are not a match.
What is Confirmation of Payee?
Confirmation of Payee is an industry-wide service that adds a layer of protection for payments to a BSB and account number. It checks the account name, BSB and account number you’ve entered against the details held by the recipient’s bank and lets you know whether it’s a match. This can help you make informed decisions before you make a payment, reducing the risk of scams and mistaken payments.
Confirmation of Payee is an initiative of Australian Payments Plus, the same organisation that also provides trusted payment services like BPAY, Osko, eftpos, PayID and PayTo.
How do I activate Confirmation of Payee?
You don’t need to do anything. Confirmation of Payee is already available in the Horizon Bank App and via Online Banking. When you make a payment to a BSB and account number, or edit a payee’s BSB and account number, you will be given the match result before you make a payment.
How does Confirmation of Payee work?
When you make a payment to a BSB and account number, Confirmation of Payee checks the details you enter against the name, BSB and account number held by the recipient’s bank and gives you a match outcome. That helps you decide what you want to do next – and gives you more confidence that the money you’re paying is going to the right account.
How does Horizon Bank check my details?
Confirmation of Payee checks the account name, BSB and account number you’ve entered against the details held by the recipient’s bank to let you know whether it’s a match or a close match – or if the details don’t match at all. All Confirmation of Payee information is passed securely between financial institutions to ensure your data remains safe.
I’m receiving money into my account – who can see my information?
If you are receiving money into a personal account, the person who’s paying you will be shown the account name only if the name they have entered is a match or a close match. If any of these details are incorrect, the name will not be shown to protect your privacy.
If you’re a business or government organisation account that’s receiving a payment, the name of your account will be shown to the payer, regardless of whether it’s a match or not.
When does Confirmation of Payee check payment details?
Confirmation of Payee will check account details for all payments to new payees or future dated first-time payments to a new payee set up to a BSB and account number and when you make amendments to your online banking address book. Additional checks may be made depending on the financial institution.
What do the match outcomes mean?
Can I still make the payment whatever the match outcome?
Yes. Confirmation of Payee will never stop you from completing a payment. We encourage you to be scam aware and always take steps to make sure you know who you are paying, as scams or mistaken payments may be difficult to retrieve.
What information should I share when I want to receive payments?
If you want to get paid without any confusion or potential delays, you should share the name, BSB and account number for your bank account. This is especially important if you’re a business with an account name that differs from the name you’re using to take a payment; for instance, if you have a different trading name for a particular part of your business.
What should I do when a name has special characters, such as ‘, -, or &?
Names with special characters, like apostrophes (‘), will still match without being entered. For example, enter “O’Brien” as “O Brien” or “Obrien”. Or an account name with an ampersand (&) such as Paper & Pen can be entered as Paper Pen.
The name field won’t accept the full name, what do I do?
If the name you're trying to enter exceeds a character limit in your online banking, let the recipient know and consider how best to proceed by contacting us.
What’s a mistaken payment?
If you enter the wrong account details, you can end up sending your money to the wrong recipient. This can be difficult and time-consuming to resolve, which is why it’s important to check the accuracy of the details you enter before you send your money.
Can I opt out of having my name displayed to others?
Eligible customers may request to be opted-out of the Confirmation of Payee service. This means your account name and match outcome will not be displayed to payers and could impact the likelihood of the payer proceeding with the payment. To understand the opt out process and the implications, please contact Horizon Bank.
I’ve changed my name, how do I update so the service shows my new name?
To ensure your name is accurate in the Confirmation of Payee service, you will need to contact each of your financial institutions including Horizon Bank.
