Confirmation of Payee: what a match, close match and no match mean

Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is the name check UK banks run when you set up a new payee. You type a name, sort code and account number. Before you can send anything, your bank asks the receiving bank whether the name matches, and shows you the answer. It is one of the most effective fraud checks in UK payments, and also the reason many legitimate business payments get a warning.

What do the four results mean?

A close match is the most common warning on business payments. A no match is the one fraudsters rely on people ignoring.

Why do real businesses get close matches?

The check compares the name you typed with the account holder name the receiving bank has. Businesses trip it in predictable ways:

1. A trading name. The client types "Hillside Design" and the account is in the name "J Whitaker".
2. The legal suffix. "Northwind Studio" against "Northwind Studio Ltd".
3. A slightly different legal name. "Northwind Studios Limited" against "Northwind Studio Ltd".
4. The wrong account type. CoP also checks whether the account is personal or business. Selecting "personal" for a company account can return a close match or no match even when the name is perfect.

How do you stop your own clients seeing a warning?

Put the account name, exactly as your bank holds it, on every invoice, next to the sort code and account number. Write it as "Account name: Northwind Studio Ltd" so your client's accounts team copies the right field. If you trade under a brand, show the brand in the header and the legal account name in the payment details.

If you are a sole trader trading under a business name on a personal account, clients will see a mismatch every time. That is one of the practical reasons to open a business account.

Does Confirmation of Payee protect you if you ignore it?

It affects reimbursement. Under the UK APP fraud rules, a payment firm can take into account whether you ignored a clear, specific warning. If CoP said no match and you paid anyway, expect that to come up. Larger businesses are outside mandatory reimbursement in any case; see APP fraud reimbursement for businesses.

How widely is Confirmation of Payee used?

The Payment Systems Regulator required the largest banking groups to offer CoP from 2020 and extended the requirement to around 400 more payment firms from October 2024. In practice almost every GBP payment to a new UK payee now gets a name check.

Is there an equivalent for euro payments?

Yes. Under the EU Instant Payments Regulation, payment providers in the euro area have run Verification of Payee on SEPA transfers since 9 October 2025. It works the same way: match, close match, no match. Our guide to SEPA Instant and Verification of Payee explains it.

What should a finance team do with a no match?

1. Do not send the payment, not even a test.
2. Contact the supplier on a phone number from your records or their website, not from the email or invoice.
3. Ask them to read out the account name exactly as it appears on their bank statement.
4. Update the payee and run the check again.

When Rivet customers pay GBP recipients from a Rivet account, the recipient's name is part of the payment, and on Growth and above teams can use roles and approvals so a second person signs off before money moves.