NatWest has introduced an API that allows commercial clients to embed Confirmation of Payee into their own systems and processes.
Confirmation of Payee was launched across the United Kingdom’s banking sector in June 2020 in order to combat scammers and safeguard against user errors.
The technology allows banking clients to carry out a check on individual payments via their online banking, by ensuring the account details provided by the sender accurately match those of the payee.
The new NatWest API should enable commercial clients to perform bulk checks against outbound payee details, for payments made via Bacs, Chaps and Faster Payments.
Gaurav Gaur, head of commercial payments, NatWest Group said:
“Confirmation of Payee has been a game-changing innovation in the battle against fraud and scams in the UK, and today we’re delighted to launch our own API that will allow commercial customers to implement this functionality into their own systems. Not only will this detect fraudulent and misdirected payments, but CoP is also proven to reduce operating costs and improve the digital journey for customers.”
Businesses are able to apply to use NatWest’s Confirmation of Payee API by visiting www.bankofapis.com in order to register their interest, and will need to have the technical capability and resources within their business in order to implement the API at their own cost.
As covered earlier this month, NatWest Group had entered agreements with three payment providers – TrueLayer, GoCardless and Crezco – in order to offer Variable Recurring Payments (VRP) as “a new and convenient payment option for businesses and consumers.”
This “industry first” means that NatWest Group will be the first UK bank “to go beyond the requirement for banks to provide VRP in support of ‘sweeping’ – the automatic transfer of money between two accounts belonging to the same person.”
NatWest Group’s VRP offering will enable payment providers “to give businesses a new option for managing customer payments for a range of services, including utility bills and subscriptions – complementing existing payment options such as Direct Debits and online card payments.”