Confirmation of Payee - frequently asked questions

Confirmation of Payee is a feature available in the People First Bank app.

Your account number, BSB and account name will be used by customers of other banks when they attempt to send money to your People First Bank account to provide Confirmation of Payee results.

All CoP data is securely passed between banks to keep your information safe.

Note: If you have a personal account then your full account name will not be displayed to the payer if the match result is a ‘No-Match’.

If you have a business account, then the full account name associated with the account will be displayed to the payer even if the account name match result is a ‘No-Match’.

You don’t need to do anything. Confirmation of Payee is already active in Online Banking and the People First Bank App. When you make a payment to a new payee using a BSB and account number, or edit a saved payee’s BSB and account number, you will be given the match result before you make a payment.

When you make a payment to a BSB and account number, Confirmation of Payee checks the details you enter against the account name, BSB and account number held by the recipient’s bank and gives you a match outcome. That helps you decide what you want to do next – and gives you more confidence that the money you’re paying is going where you intend it to.

Confirmation of Payee checks the account name, BSB and account number you’ve entered against the details held by the recipient’s bank to let you know whether it’s a match or a close match – or if the details don’t match at all. All Confirmation of Payee information is passed securely between financial institutions to ensure your data remains safe.

If you are receiving money into a personal account, the person who’s paying you will be shown the account name only if the account details entered is a match or a close match. If any of these details are incorrect, the account name will not be shown to protect your privacy.

If you’re a business or government organisation account that’s receiving a payment, the name of your account will be shown to the payer, regardless of whether it’s a match or not.

Confirmation of Payee will check account details at the following times:

• When you make a payment for the first time to a new payee
• When you set up a new recurring or scheduled payment to a new payee
• When you update an existing payee in your address book. 

• ‘Account match’ means the details you’ve entered match the bank records of the intended recipient.
• ‘Close match’ means the details you’ve entered closely match the bank records of the intended recipient.
• ‘No match’ means that the details you entered do not match the bank records of the intended recipient.
• 'Error' means the Confirmation of Payee service could not confirm the account details you entered match.

Yes. Confirmation of Payee will never stop you from completing a payment unless the account is closed or cannot be found. We encourage you to be scam aware and always take steps to make sure you know who you are paying, as money lost to scams or mistaken payments may be difficult to get back.

If you want to get paid without any confusion or potential delays, you should provide the account name, BSB, and account number exactly as recorded on your account. This includes using the correct spelling and any middle names that form part of your account name. If you’re uncertain, it’s best to check these details with us. This is also relevant for businesses whose account name may differ from their trading name, such as when a specific part of the business operates under a different name.

You can find your account name on your bank statement. 

Names with special characters, like apostrophes (‘), will still match without the special character being entered. For example, enter “O’Brien” as “O Brien” or “Obrien”. Or an account name with an ampersand (&) such as Paper & Pen can be entered as Paper Pen.

If the name you're trying to enter exceeds a character limit in your online banking, let the recipient know and consider how best to proceed by contacting us on 13 11 82.

If the account number you're entering exceeds the character limit in your online banking and the account number you are entering starts with zeros, you can remove the zeros and check those account details match. If you're still unsure, let the recipient know and contact us on 13 11 82.

Eligible customers may request to be opted-out of the Confirmation of Payee service. This means your account name and match outcome will not be displayed to payers and could impact the likelihood of the payer proceeding with the payment. To understand the opt out process and the implications, please contact us on 13 11 82.

To ensure your account name is accurate in the Confirmation of Payee service, please contact us on 13 11 82.

Confirmation of Payee is a service managed by People First Bank to help keep your payments secure. If you receive any message or phone call claiming to be from Confirmation of Payee asking you to send or receive money, it is a scam. 

If you believe you have been scammed, please contact us on 13 11 82.