What is Confirmation of Payee?
Confirmation of Payee is an account name checking service for UK domestic payments that helps you feel more confident that your money is being sent to the intended recipient’s account.
When you make an external transfer from your Zeller Business Account to another person or business, Confirmation of Payee automatically checks the account details you’ve entered against the details held by the recipient’s bank.
This additional check helps you check for a match using the account name, sort code, account number, and any required reference number before you approve the payment.
By reducing the risk of mismatched details, it helps reduce the risk of scams and errors, and improve overall payment accuracy.
How does Confirmation of Payee work?
When you make a payment to a new sort code and account number, or if you make changes to an existing recipient’s account details, Confirmation of Payee checks the details you enter against the account type (business or personal), account name, sort code, and account number held by the recipient’s bank, then provides a match outcome. This added layer of protection gives you more confidence that your money is going where you intend it to.
Some financial institutions also require a reference to be entered when making a payment to an account. For these accounts, Confirmation of Payee will also check the reference details to help ensure you're paying the correct account. If the reference details entered are invalid or not recognised by the recipient institution, you'll be informed and asked to check the details.
Examples where a reference may be required include:
- A roll number for some building society accounts
- A 16-digit credit card number when paying a credit card bill
Confirmation of Payee also works the other way around. When someone sends a payment to your Zeller Business Account, their bank may check the account name, sort code, and account number against your details. This reduces errors, improves payment accuracy, and can save your business time and money.
How do I activate Confirmation of Payee?
You don’t need to do anything. Confirmation of Payee is automatically enabled for your Zeller Business Account.
When transferring funds to a new sort code and account number, or if you make changes to an existing recipient’s account details, the match result will be shown before you proceed with the transfer.
When you add a new recipient’s account details to a Contact, a match result will also be displayed before you save the recipient’s account details.
Your registered business name and trading name on Zeller Business Accounts are also automatically updated in the Confirmation of Payee service. Changes are reflected within 24 hours of account opening.
What’s a mistaken payment?
A mistaken payment happens when funds are sent to the wrong account due to incorrect details. These payments can be difficult and time-consuming to recover, so it’s important to check the recipient’s account information before sending funds. If you believe you have made a mistaken payment, contact our Support team.
Receiving a transfer
What account information should I share with a payer in order to receive fund transfers?
To ensure payments are processed smoothly and without delays, share your account name, account type, sort code, and account number. This is particularly important for businesses that use a trading name different from the account name, as providing accurate details helps avoid confusion or rejected payments.
You can find your account details in your Zeller Dashboard and App.
Someone is transferring funds to my Zeller Business Account. Can they see my information through Confirmation of Payee?
When a payer enters your account type (business), account name, sort code, and account number, the Confirmation of Payee service checks these details against those held on your Zeller Business Account and returns a match outcome.
Because your Zeller Business Account is registered to your business, the business name held on your account will be shown to the payer as part of the match outcome. No additional information is shared.
I’ve changed my business name. How do I update it so that Confirmation of Payee shows my new name?
Please contact our Support team with your updated registered business name details, so that we can update it in the Confirmation of Payee service. Once your business name has been updated, it will automatically be reflected in any future Confirmation of Payee checks.
If you notice any issues with the displayed name on your account, contact our Support team.
What should I do if someone is trying to pay me and gets a ‘No match’ outcome?
If someone is trying to pay you and gets a ‘No match’ or ‘Unable to confirm’ outcome, ask the payer to enter your full account details exactly as recorded on your Zeller Business Account.
The account type should be set to “Business”.
They should also check the spelling and formatting of the account name, as even small differences can affect the Confirmation of Payee result.
The name must match exactly with the details held on your Zeller Business Account to return a successful match.
Making a transfer
What do the match outcomes mean?
Match – The details you entered match the intended recipient’s bank records. You’ve used the correct account type and account name.
Close match – The details you entered closely match the intended recipient’s bank records. We’ll share the actual account name with you and confirm whether the account type is correct or not.
You should carefully check the name shown and confirm with the recipient before proceeding, as this may indicate a potential error or fraud risk.
No match – The details you entered do not match the intended recipient’s bank records. You should contact the recipient to confirm their account details.
We could not confirm the account name match / The account does not support verification – The service couldn’t confirm the recipient’s account details at this time. This can either be due to a technical issue, or because the recipient’s account doesn’t support Confirmation of Payee checks.
Other possible match results:
- No account / sort code found – The account number and / or sort code are incorrect. Contact your intended recipient to get the correct bank details.
- Reference is required – A valid reference is required to transfer funds to the recipient’s account.
- Reference not found – The reference entered is not valid. Contact your intended recipient to get the correct bank details, or consider removing the invalid reference.
- The account has been switched – The recipient’s account is in the process of being switched to a different financial institution. Contact your intended recipient to get their latest bank details.
Exceptions: If you proceed where there isn’t a match, there is a higher risk the payment could go to the wrong account. In some cases, funds may be difficult to recover. Your eligibility for reimbursement will depend on the circumstances of the payment.
What should I do if I’m trying to pay someone and get a ‘No match’ outcome?
Confirm the account type, account name, sort code, and account number with the intended recipient, as small errors in spelling or formatting can affect the Confirmation of Payee match outcome.
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 recover.
Can I still transfer funds regardless of the match outcome?
You can choose to proceed with a transfer regardless of the match result.
However, if the recipient’s account or sort code is not found, or if a reference is required, we will not be able to perform a fund transfer to the account. In this case, we recommend requesting updated account details from the recipient.
Confirmation of Payee is designed to help you make informed decisions before sending funds. If the outcome is not a match or close match, it’s important to proceed with caution.
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 recover.
What should I do when an account name has special characters, such as ‘, -, or &?
Names with special characters will still match even if the characters are omitted. As an example:
- O’Brien can be entered as-is, or as O Brien, or as Obrien.
- Ivy-Rose can be entered as-is, or as Ivy Rose.
- Paper & Pen can be entered as-is, or as Paper and Pen.
The name field won’t accept the full name, what do I do?
If the name you’re entering exceeds the 140 character limit in the Zeller Dashboard or App, notify the recipient. They may not be aware of the issue, and will need to escalate it with their financial institution if their account has been registered with a name format that exceeds the limit, or contains unsupported characters. You can also contact our Support team for guidance on how to proceed.
Do I need to know whether the recipient account is a personal or business account?
Yes, as this information helps the recipient's financial institution decide which Confirmation of Payee match outcome to return. You’ll have to indicate whether the recipient’s account details belong to a personal or business account whenever you perform an external transfer to a new recipient.
Avoid scams and help reduce fraud
What is Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud?
An Authorised Push Payment (APP) is an external fund transfer that someone legitimately authorises.
APP fraud occurs when fraudsters trick individuals or businesses into willingly transferring money to someone it’s not intended for, typically via social engineering techniques, such as impersonation scams to deceive victims into authorising external fund transfers.
Transfers related to APP fraud can be made over the phone, online or in person and most are completed instantly.
How can I reduce fraud risk?
Confirmation of Payee can help you avoid making new domestic transfers to the wrong account, prevent scams, and improve overall payment accuracy.
Always check the recipient’s account details before you proceed with an external transfer.
If you are contacting the recipient to confirm their account details, make sure that the recipient’s contact details are genuine.
Never feel pressured into continuing with a fund transfer if the recipient’s account details don’t fully match or if the account details can’t be confirmed.
Visit the ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ website to learn more about how to protect yourself from fraud.
