Banks in New Zealand have begun the phased roll out of Confirmation of Payee, using technology supplied by UK fintech obconnect.
Confirmation of Payee provides bank customers with an extra level of reassurance when making domestic payments from one bank account to another.
Operating at the point of payment, CoP informs customers whether the account name and number match real-time bank records.
Banks participating in the new Confirmation of Payee service are ANZ, ASB, Bank of China, BNZ, CCB, The Co-operative Bank, Heartland Bank, ICBC, Kiwibank, Rabobank, SBS Bank, TSB, and Westpac.
The phased approach to roll out, with full delivery across all banks to be completed by Easter 2025, mirrors the implementation of the anti-fraud process in the UK.
New Zealand Banking Association chief executive Roger Beaumont says: “Banks have been working together at pace to start making the service available before the end of the year. Due to the size and complexity of payments services the banks offer, some banks are adopting a phased approach to ensure thorough user testing and customer understanding.
“The good news is that banks are working to have the service available across all online personal banking channels by Easter 2025."