Australian Payments Plus (AP+) and the Australian Banking Association (ABA) have completed the design specs for a new national Confirmation of Payee service, providing another layer of protection against scammers.
The new service, which is to be built by banking co-operative Swift, will comprise a central matching database to determine a name match based on account data provided by each payee Financial Institution (FI) when compared to the account name entered by the payer.
Lynn Kraus, CEO of AP+ says the the agreement on the design is an important step forward for the industry in the pursuit of combatting scams and frauds.
Says Kraus: "In addition to working with the New Payments Platform (NPP) participating institutions that will be involved in implementing this solution, we have solicited input from over 50 community groups in an effort to ensure we have a broad perspective of views. Creating broad-based community support for the solution will be vital to its effectiveness."
Anna Bligh, CEO of the ABA says Australia’s banks are investing $100 million in this new anti-scam technology.
“Banks are investing in this new service so customers have another important layer of protection against scammers,” says Bligh. “Customers will have more confidence that they are transferring money to the right person and not to a potential scammer.
The new service is expected to be rolled out in phases, with centralised capability including account matching logic and standardised APIs being progressively built and tested throughout 2024, allowing financial institutions to integrate the service into their banking channels starting in early 2025.