We’re introducing a security measure called Confirmation of Payee to give you greater protection against fraud. It will also reduce the risk of misdirected or accidental mis-keyed payments sent via CHAPS, Faster Payments or Standing Order payments made to your Unity account.
When people or organisations make a one-off payment, set up a new regular payment, or amend an existing payment to you via these payment methods, they will need to check and confirm the account name, giving them greater assurance that they are paying the correct person or business.
We launched Confirmation of Payee in August 2021 for online payments made into Unity accounts. The payment providers who are currently live with us are shown below, and we’ll update this regularly as more banks and building societies come onboard:
Shortly, we’ll begin to introduce the service for payments made by you from your Unity account to other banks or building societies.
Before a payer is able to make a payment into your Unity account, they will be shown a message with a Confirmation of Payee ‘check’ response. The specific wording is determined by the sender’s bank or building society, but the most common responses are shown in bold below:
Yes, it’s a Match: This means that the name of the receiving account matches that input by the payer.
It’s a Close Match: The name input by the sender is similar to the name on the account. We’ll share your actual account name with the sender’s bank and the sender can choose whether to make the payment or check with you before continuing.
It’s Not a Match: The account name entered does not match that of the receiving account. The sender can decide to proceed with the payment, but it will be at their risk if it goes to an account they didn’t intend.
Unavailable / Unable to Check: The sender’s bank can’t do a Confirmation of Payee check at that time. This may be for several reasons. The sender should follow the guidance given by their bank or building society.
A full list of responses is shown in our FAQs.
For more information on Confirmation of Payee, please read our Frequently Asked Questions.
You can also visit UK Finance and explore our fraud guide for more information on how to stay safe from fraud.
If you’re ready to switch your Business Current Account to Unity Trust Bank, we’ll make sure it happens like clockwork. It’s guaranteed to take 7 working days, it’s free, and it’s all taken care of by the Current Account Switch Service.
