Australia’s banks have launched a national Confirmation of Payee program aimed at protecting customers from being deceived into sending money to criminals.
Banks have invested $100 million in name-matching technology designed to reduce scams and erroneous payments. This system verifies if the name, BSB, and account number entered by a customer match the details held by the receiving bank, showing the match result before a transaction is completed.
Anna Bligh, CEO of the Australian Banking Association, highlights that despite Australia being one of the few countries where scam losses are decreasing, further investment in advanced scam-fighting technology is essential for further reductions.
“This is critical new technology that will help protect customers from inadvertently sending money to scammers,” she stated.
Already utilized in the UK, Confirmation of Payee is also being implemented across Europe, with a deadline of October 2025 established by the EU Instant Payments Regulation.
Belgian banks have taken the lead by going live with this new technology, offering an enhanced version of the standard name-matching service. This includes clearer notifications for payers, additional data for banks to identify fraud early, and customization to meet local needs such as multilingual support and special characters.