A new law makes it harder for fraudsters to trick people into transferring money to them by pretending to be someone else.
The Bank of Scotland, Barclays, HSBC UK, Lloyds Bank, NatWest and more have changed their bank transfer rules.
People making bank transfers will have more certainty their money is being sent to the right person, due to the widespread adoption by banks of a new name-checking service.
Six major banks Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds are amongst those that will soon be carrying out name checks when sending money to third party accounts.
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) said the “confirmation of payee” service will give people the additional protection of checking the name of who they want to pay against the account number they are paying money into.
Major banks and building societies – Bank of Scotland, Barclays, HSBC UK, Lloyds Bank, NatWest, Nationwide Building Society, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander UK and Ulster Bank- have adopted it.
How new bank transfer rule works
To make a transfer after June 30.
You will have to enter the payee’s sort code, account number and a payment reference as standard.
You’ll also have the option to submit their name which will have to be exactly as it appears on the card.
Your bank will then ask you to enter the type of account you’re paying – personal or business.
It will then check the records of the payee’s bank account to see if the name matches.
You’ll then get one of the following responses:
- If you used the right account name, you will get confirmation that the details match, and can go ahead with the payment
- If you used a similar name to the account holder, you will be told the actual name of the account holder to check. You can update the details and try again, or contact the intended recipient to check the details
- If you have entered the wrong name for the account holder you will be told the details do not match and advised to contact the person or organisation you are trying to pay.
If you’re doing a phone payment, you’ll be told whether it’s a match or not during the call. Online, you will be given a ‘yes, match’ notification.
The decision on whether to go ahead or not is still yours whatever happens – but the risks are made clear if you choose to go ahead after receiving a non-match.
