Key points:
- This month, CommBank is launching Confirmation of Payee (CoP), an industry name-matching solution designed to help combat scams and mistaken payments.
- CoP was developed by industry body Australian Payments Plus (AP+) and is being progressively rolled out by most Australian banks this year.
- CommBank was the first Australian bank to previously introduce a capability on our digital banking platforms to provide an indication to retail and business customers if the payment details they enter on a first-time payment don't look right.
- CoP will work alongside CommBank's security tool NameCheck and together, the two solutions will provide more information to CommBank customers to help them protect themselves against scams and mistaken payments.
How it works
CoP builds on New Payments Platform (NPP) infrastructure to match the name entered by the payee with the name held by the receiving bank, when sending a domestic payment via BSB and account number.
Meanwhile, CommBank's existing security tool NameCheck searches the account details customers have entered when making a first-time payment in NetBank, the CommBank app or CommBiz[1]. Based on CommBank's available payment data, NameCheck will then indicate whether the account details look right, taking into account additional factors such as preferred names, nicknames, business trading names and risk activity indicators.
NameCheck has already saved $650 million in prevented scams and mistaken payments for CommBank customers[2].
Both NameCheck and CoP are designed to provide additional information to customers when making payments and, together, they help provide CommBank customers with additional protections against scams and mistaken payments.
CBA will use NameCheck to enrich or augment CoP findings in some cases, for example where CoP data does not cover a given account but NameCheck does, or where NameCheck has well established name derivations that might enhance consumer experience.
To bring to life how the two technologies will be stronger together, CommBank General Manager Payments Alison Chang used her dad, a Singaporean immigrant whose preferred name differs from his legal name, as the example.
"My dad is a first-generation immigrant from Singapore. He goes by John*, but his legal name is very different. When someone transfers money into my dad's account using his nickname rather than the legal name registered with CommBank as his financial institution, NameCheck will create a match based on available payment information and past transaction data, complementing CoP's analysis of information captured under Know Your Customer obligations."
The combined technology will create safer yet seamless payment experiences and will use the same principle to provide information about payments being made to businesses.
"Businesses often trade under names that vastly differ to those filed with the Australian Business Register. When CommBank retail and small business customers are paying an invoice via NetBank or CommBank app, CoP and NameCheck can help give them confidence that they have entered the BSB and account number correctly - making sure they send money to the right person.
For CommBank customers, CoP and NameCheck are more powerful together, as NameCheck provides additional activity-based risk warnings, even if the account name matches.
Why this matters
Scam activity continues to present a significant threat to Australian consumers and businesses. According to Ms Chang, introducing CoP is part of a concerted effort by the banking sector to combating this threat.
"Introducing Confirmation of Payee reflects CommBank's active participation in an industry-wide push to make Australia less attractive to scammers. Over two years, CommBank has seen customer losses from scams drop by 70 per cent, however there is more work to do as scammers' methods evolve".
"Our experience in supporting customers with NameCheck has allowed CBA to provide valuable insights during the industry discussions for the AP+ Confirmation of Payee solution. CommBank has an ongoing commitment to improving customer safety, and CoP will help empower customers to take greater control and help spot a scam before it happens," Ms Chang added.
As well as NameCheck, CoP complements CommBank's other anti-scam measures, for example participation in the Australian Financial Crime Exchange (AFCX) Intelligence Loop and behavioural security technology.
"We encourage customers to remain vigilant and take steps to protect themselves against scams by staying on top of scam trends and ensuring they stop, check and reject any payment request that seems unusual. We will continue to work across the industry, government and other sectors to keep strengthening scams protections for Australians, businesses and communities," Ms Chang said.
Confirmation of Payee will roll out across the banking sector over the course of 2025, helping to build a safer and more secure payments ecosystem for everyone.
For more on how customers can protect themselves from scams, visit CommBank Safe and CommBank Safe for Business.
For more on how Confirmation of Payee will help protect CommBank customers, click here.
Footnotes:
* Not his real name
[1] In CommBiz, NameCheck will review the bank account details of first-time payees for Direct Credit (up to 50 payees), Priority Payment, Fast Payment (using BSB & account number), and manually imported file (Direct Credit payments up to 50 payees only).
[2] Via NetBank and CommBank app from July 2023 to December 2024.
Go to CBA Newsroom for the latest news and announcements from Commonwealth Bank.
