A quiet revolution just landed in Europe. And if your business sends or receives euros, every payment you make is about to get a little smarter.
On 9th October 2025, the EU’s verification of payee (VoP) mandate officially switched on. Every euro payment now has to pass a name check – the account holder’s name must match the IBAN (international bank account number) before the money leaves your account.
Head of Product Management at Tribe Payments.
It might sound like a minor tweak, but this is a major weapon against one of Europe’s fastest-growing frauds: authorized push payment (APP) scams – where criminals trick individuals and finance teams inside businesses into sending money to accounts that look legitimate but aren’t.
In 2024, APP fraud cost EU business over €2.4 billion, with France, Germany and the Netherlands seeing double-digit year-on-year spikes. In the UK, losses reached £459.7 million, with APP scams making up 76% of all fraud by volume.
A new checkpoint for every euro you move
VoP inserts a speed bump into your payment flows. Every supplier invoice, contractor payment, and cross-border transfer could trigger a real-time mismatch alert if the name doesn’t fully align with the intended recipient.
Think of it like a bouncer for your money – only the right account gets through. It’s the EU’s answer to misdirected and fraudulent payments, especially invoice scams where fraudsters pose as legitimate suppliers.
The concept isn’t entirely new. The UK introduced its own Confirmation of Payee (CoP) system in 2020, which quickly cut fraud losses.
But while the UK phased its rollout gradually, enabling banks and payment providers to join gradually, the EU’s version is mandatory from day one. Around 3,000 banks, PSPs and fintechs across the Eurozone have been expected to comply immediately.
VoP checks apply to both SEPA Credit Transfers (SCT) and SEPA Instant Credit Transfers (SCT Inst), so whether you’re paying payroll in bulk or sending funds instantly, your money now has to prove who it’s going to.
Why your finance teams should pay attention
Many companies won’t notice VoP until a payment triggers an alert. When it does, it matters:
Stop invoice fraud – fake supplier accounts are flagged before payments leave your business;
Catch costly errors – one wrong digit in an IBAN can misdirect funds; VoP adds a crucial verification step stopping funds from being sent into a financial black hole;
Reduce disputes – acting on alerts simplifies liability conversations with banks;
Build supplier trust – know that money is reaching the right people, improving cash flow transparency;
Safer onboarding – new suppliers are verified, reducing onboarding fraud risk.
Of course, not every mismatch means fraud. A missing accent, an abbreviated company name, or the difference between “Ltd” and “Limited” can also trip alerts. That makes clean, consistent data just as important as the tech itself.
Businesses will need to ensure supplier records are accurate and consistent, and be ready to explain to customers or partners why a payment might be held up for verification. Inconsistent naming can erode trust in the system, especially if alerts are frequent or unexplained.
SMEs without dedicated fraud teams especially benefit, since a single fraudulent transfer can freeze liquidity for weeks.
Why awareness is so low
Despite its scale, VoP has arrived quietly. Banks and payment service providers have focused on implementation first, making sure the technical and compliance pieces are in place. But that means VoP switched on with little fanfare for businesses.
Awareness is particularly low among firms outside the Eurozone, even if they make euro-denominated payments. So, UK firms – don’t switch off. Even if you already use CoP, VoP applies to any euro payments you make or any payment to EU suppliers via SEPA.
And unlike CoP, VoP is mandatory across the bloc with no opt-in period, so UK businesses must ensure their systems, staff, and payment partners can interpret and act on alerts.
A little friction can save millions
VoP doesn’t automatically block payments. It adds a layer of friction that’s designed to prevent fraud, not slow down commerce. That friction matters. It forces a decision point: verify, delay, or proceed.
For banks and PSPs, the challenge is technical – serve real-time checks without slowing transactions or breaking the customer experience. For businesses, it’s behavioral.
A ‘close match’ might be harmless… a nickname or abbreviation… or it could be the sign of a scam. Training staff to spot the difference will be as important as the tech itself.
Closing the trust gap
VoP is a trust upgrade baked into every transaction. By embedding account-name verification, the EU has effectively added a fraud firewall at the payment source.
And with billions lost to scams each year, it’s a small friction with a potentially huge upside.
The question – is your business ready?
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