Confirmation of Payee is a name check. When your customer sets you up as a new payee, their bank asks your bank whether the name they've typed matches the name on your account, and shows them one of four answers: match, close match, no match or unable to check. It doesn't prove the supplier is genuine, and a mismatch can make a customer stop and query your invoice before paying, so it's worth making sure your account name and your invoice agree.
In this article
The short version
- Confirmation of Payee checks the account name, not the sort code or account number.
- Customers see one of four results: match, close match, no match or unable to check.
- A trading name your bank doesn't hold can trigger a no match.
- Print the account name on invoices exactly as your bank holds it.
- Payment links and direct debit avoid retyped bank details altogether.
What Confirmation of Payee checks
Before Confirmation of Payee, a UK bank payment went wherever the sort code and account number sent it, and the name on the payment was never checked. Your customer could type your business name perfectly and still pay a stranger if one digit was wrong.
The check sits in front of that process. When your customer adds you as a payee, their bank asks your bank whether the name they've entered matches the name held on the account, and shows them the result before they send anything:
- Match: the name is right and your customer carries on.
- Close match: the name is nearly right, and your customer is shown the actual account name to check, for example "Smith Roofing Limited" where they typed "Smith Roofing Ltd".
- No match: your customer is told the details don't match. They can usually still pay, but most people stop and check first.
- Unable to check: the check couldn't be done, for example because the receiving bank didn't respond in time. It doesn't mean anything was typed wrong.
It's worth being clear about what the check doesn't do. It tells your customer whether the name and the account go together. It doesn't confirm that the sort code and account number are the ones you meant them to use, and it can't tell them whether the supplier is genuine. A fraudster who opens an account in a convincing company name can still get a match.
The check now covers UK domestic bank payments almost everywhere. The six largest banking groups were required to introduce it by 2020, and the Payment Systems Regulator extended the requirement to around 400 more banks and payment firms, with the last of them due by October 2024.
Why your customers might not get a match
Your customer can only get a match against the name your bank holds for the account. For a business account, that's usually your registered company name, plus any trading name your bank has recorded against the account.
Problems start when the name on your invoice isn't one of those. Say you trade as "Northside Studio", your invoices use that name, and your bank account is held as "Ashworth Media Ltd". A customer who types the name from your letterhead is likely to get a no match. A smaller difference, such as "J Smith Consulting" against "Jane Smith Consulting Ltd", is more likely to give a close match, which shows your customer the real name and usually just causes a short pause.
A no match costs you time rather than money. Your customer has been told by their own bank that something looks wrong, so they email you, wait for a reply and pay a few days later than they would have. If the invoice was close to its due date, it becomes late because of how your account name is recorded.
How to make sure your customers get a match
Three small checks usually sort this out:
- Find out exactly what name your bank holds on the account. It may be an abbreviation or an old version of your company name that nobody has looked at for years.
- If you invoice under a trading name, ask your bank to register it against the account.
- Print the account name on your invoice exactly as your bank holds it, next to the sort code and account number, so your customer copies the right name instead of guessing from your logo.
If you collect by direct debit, there's a similar check called Payer Name Verification. It lets the collecting business, or its direct debit provider, check the customer's account name when the mandate is set up or changed, so a wrong account is caught while your customer is still in front of you, not weeks later when the first collection fails.
How to take retyped bank details out of the picture
Confirmation of Payee exists because people type bank details by hand. If your customers don't have to, the check rarely gets in the way.
A payment link lets your customer pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or pay by bank without copying your sort code and account number. With pay by bank, your account details and the invoice reference are already filled in, and your customer approves the payment in their own banking app. With direct debit, you collect on the agreed date and your customer only gives their details once, when they sign the mandate.
Adfin sends payment links by email, SMS or WhatsApp, with card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, pay by bank and direct debit on the same invoice, and matches each payment back to the invoice in Xero or QuickBooks. If the invoice goes unpaid, Adfin's collection agents can send reminders with the same link, within rules you set. Some customers will always prefer a manual bank transfer, so the account name on your invoice still needs to match the one your bank holds.
Common questions
What does Confirmation of Payee check? Whether the account name your customer typed matches the name held on the account they're paying. It doesn't check that the sort code and account number are the right ones.
What are the four Confirmation of Payee results? Match, close match, no match and unable to check. A close match shows your customer the real account name, and unable to check means the check couldn't be done.
Why do my customers get a close match when they pay me? Usually because the name they typed is slightly different from the name your bank holds, such as Ltd against Limited. They're shown the real name and can carry on.
Do I need to register my trading name with my bank? If you invoice under a trading name that's different from your registered name, it's worth asking your bank to record it against your account so customers get a match.
Does a match mean the supplier is genuine? No. It only confirms the name and account go together. A fraudster with an account in a convincing business name can still get a match.
Is there a similar check for direct debit? Yes. Payer Name Verification lets a business check the account name before a direct debit mandate is set up or changed.
Sources
- Pay.UK - Confirmation of Payee (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.wearepay.uk/what-we-do/overlay-services/confirmation-of-payee/
- Payment Systems Regulator - Confirmation of Payee (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.psr.org.uk/our-work/app-scams/confirmation-of-payee/
- Adfin - Accept payments (accurate as of October 2026) https://www.adfin.com/accept-payments
