Verification of Payee (VoP)

Verification of Payee (VoP) is a check that compares the payee name a payer enters with the name on the account behind the IBAN, before a euro credit transfer is sent. The EU's Instant Payments Regulation made it mandatory, and it covers both standard SEPA credit transfers and SEPA Instant payments.

How VoP works

The payer enters the payee's name and IBAN.
Before the payment is authorised, the payer's provider sends the name and IBAN to the payee's provider.
The payee's provider compares the name with the one on the account and sends back a result within seconds.
The payer sees the result and decides whether to go ahead.

The check happens before the money moves, so a payment to the wrong account can be stopped instead of recovered. It applies to SEPA Instant and standard SEPA credit transfers alike.

The four results

Result	What it means	What the payer sees
Match	The name matches the account holder	Confirmation, and the payment can go ahead
Close match	The name is nearly right, for example a typo or a missing legal-form suffix	The correct account holder name, so the payer can fix it
No match	The name doesn't match the account holder	A warning that the money may go to the wrong person
Check not possible	The check couldn't be completed, for example for technical reasons	A notice that the name couldn't be verified

The payer can still authorise the payment after a close match or no match. If they do, after being warned, the payer's provider isn't liable for the money reaching the account behind the IBAN.

Who must offer it and by when

Providers	Verification of Payee required from
Banks and other PSPs in euro-area member states	9 October 2025
PSPs in member states outside the euro area	9 July 2027
Payment institutions and e-money institutions in the euro area	9 October 2025, like other euro-area PSPs

Payment institutions and e-money institutions got extra time only for instant payments themselves. In the euro area they must be able to send and receive SEPA Instant payments by 9 April 2027; outside it, receive by 9 April 2027 and send by 9 July 2027. The name check has no such deferral: any euro-area provider that offers SEPA credit transfers has had to offer it since 9 October 2025.The check is free of charge for everyone who uses it.For how this works on a Narvi account, see how VoP works in your Narvi account.

VoP vs UK Confirmation of Payee

	Verification of Payee (EU)	Confirmation of Payee (UK)
Legal basis	EU Instant Payments Regulation	UK Payment Systems Regulator directions
Payments covered	Euro credit transfers, standard and instant	UK Faster Payments and CHAPS
Rulebook	European Payments Council VOP scheme	Pay.UK
Results	Match, close match, no match, check not possible	Match, close match, no match

The two do the same job but run on separate systems. A UK payment to an EU account isn't covered by either.

What businesses receiving payments should check

VoP makes the name on your account visible to everyone who pays you. If it doesn't match what your customers type, they'll see a warning, and some will stop paying.Check that your invoices show the exact legal name on the account, including the legal form (Oy, GmbH, Ltd). Trading names are the most common cause of close matches. And if you receive payments into a pooled or virtual account structure, test what result your payers get, because a name that belongs to the platform rather than to you can come back as no match. A dedicated IBAN in your own name avoids that problem.

FAQ

Yes. The decision is yours, but if you go ahead after the warning, your provider isn't responsible for the money reaching the wrong person. Contact the payee to check the name first.

No. Providers have to offer it to payers free of charge, for both standard and instant euro credit transfers.

No. It covers euro credit transfers within SEPA. International SWIFT payments in other currencies aren't checked this way.

Related terms and sources

BIC code · E-money institution · Payment service provider · Browse the full glossary

Last reviewed October 22, 2026Disclaimer
This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax, or other professional advice from Narvi Payments Oy Ab or its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.

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Narvi Payments Oy Ab is an Authorized Electronic Money Institution (EMI). Narvi’s EMI license is granted by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN FSA) with the registration number 3190214-6. Narvi’s license is passportised to all European Union countries.

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Verification of Payee (VoP)