European payments
More security for bank customers for transfers
A transfer is possible today in a matter of seconds. If data are incorrect or fraudsters have their hands in the game, the money is gone. New EU requirements should offer more protection.
More protection for consumers from fraudulent or incorrect transfers: In the future, banks will have to check for transfers in the euro area before the release whether the name of the payee and the entered international bank account number IBAN will match the data of the target account. The payer is informed about the result of the check within seconds and can decide on this basis whether he transfers the money or not. The banks must implement corresponding EU requirements from October 9th.
So far, a payer has had to trust the data that reaches it by invoice or email, says Ingo Beyritz, Head of Payments at the Federal Association of German Banks (BDB). “You cannot decide as a payer based on this data alone: Are these clean data?” In the future, data between money houses for the payer would be compared transparently before the payment will be carried out, explains Beyritz.
Another building block of the EU against fraud in digital space
This so-called recipient check (Verification of Payee, short: VOP) is part of an EU regulation (EU 2024/886). The aim is to ensure additional security, especially when it comes to online banking. The recipient check for euro transfers is also carried out at the bank switch if a transfer receipt is submitted there. From July 9, 2027, the EU requirement applies within the entire European Union.
It is not always a question of fraud if the bank reports back to the customer during a recipient check that something is wrong with the data. For example, if the name is on the transfer that the payer knows from the shop, but the bank leads the account under the name of the company owner.
New service should be as free as possible
The private banks in Germany are technically prepared for implementation from the perspective of their umbrella organization BDB. “We don’t expect any problems,” says Beyritz.
In addition, the new service should not result in fees and fees for customers in accordance with the European Union. The BDB informs: “Neither payers nor payer pay for the recipient check.”
Not all states in the euro payments come with you
The euro payment interpretation (“Single Euro Payments Area”/Sepa) includes the 27 countries of the European Union as well as Great Britain, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Switzerland, Monaco, Andorra, Vatican City and San Marino. The IBAN (“International Bank Account Number”) is intended to standardize transfers, direct debits and card payments in these 36 countries across borders.
The non-EU countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway can decide whether they will take over the EU requirements for the recipient check. No recipient check is planned for transfers from and to Great Britain and Switzerland.
dpa
Source: Stern
