Confirmation of Payee is an industry-wide initiative which was introduced across over 400 UK payment service providers. It helps you and your customers avoid paying the wrong account, either by mistake or as a result of a scam.
When you pay someone’s account, Confirmation of Payee checks the account details you add against the details held by the account you’re paying. These details are: the account number, the sort code, the account type (either business or personal) and the name registered to that account.
It’ll then let you know whether the account details you added are the same as those linked to the account you’re paying. This helps you to avoid paying the wrong account by mistake, such as by mistyping a number in the sort code.
It also helps you to avoid paying money to a fraudulent account. Scammers will often pretend to be someone they’re not, and provide an account for you to pay under the false details they’ve provided you. Confirmation of Payee checks these details and alerts you if there’s a mismatch.
This also applies for payments being made to your account. It helps you get paid more reliably by protecting against payments being made to the wrong account in error.
Make sure:
There are no other documents, objects or shadows around the cheque
It lays flat on a dark, plain surface, under good but not too bright light; preferably, the cheque shouldn’t be placed on wooden surface
All 4 corners of the cheque must be visible in the frame
When you’re ready to make the deposit:
In the app, tap: ‘Get paid’ > ‘Deposit cash and cheques’ > ‘Deposit cheques’. If this is your first deposit - read and agree to the Terms & Conditions.
Enter the amount and reference, and tap ‘Next’.
Hold your camera horizontally over the cheque while the app captures the details. At the ‘Review photo’ stage, you’ll see a black-and-white image of the cheque. Make sure that all details are clearly visible – including the account number, sort code, signature, payee name, amount, and date. If any details are unclear, please retake the cheque images.
Once you’ve confirmed that everything is correct, you can submit the cheque deposit.
When will I receive my cheque deposit?
Cheques will normally clear in 2 business days.
On the back of the cheque itself, make a note of the date you deposited it. Keep the paper cheque for your records.
If you’ve enabled your in-app notifications, you’ll see a message to confirm the cheque payment. It will show on your transactions timeline, and in your monthly statement - as ‘Cheque’.
