Bank of Ireland fined £3.7m after missing Confirmation of Payee safeguard deadline

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has fined Bank of Ireland UK for failing to implement Confirmation of Payee (CoP) by the required deadline.

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has fined Bank of Ireland UK £3.7m for failing to implement a crucial fraud protection service on time. The bank missed the deadline by 14 months, leaving over 1.14 million new payees and £6.9 billion in payments unprotected.

Bank of Ireland were directed to have a system in place to send and receive CoP requests by 31st October 2023. CoP allows people to confirm the account they’re sending money to is the one they expect. It’s an important mechanism in combating fraud and in giving people confidence when making online payments.

Payment service providers had ample time to put the measure in place, after the PSR confirmed the requirement in October 2022. Bank of Ireland were the last Group 1 payment service provider to achieve compliance.

David Geale, Managing Director at the PSR said “Confirmation of Payee is a vital tool to combat fraud and misdirected payments, giving people confidence that their money is going exactly where they intend.

“Bank of Ireland UK had plenty of time to put the system in place, missing the deadline by more than a year put its customers at increased risk of fraud. Where we see firms failing to comply with the Confirmation of Payee requirements and leaving customers without this critical protection, we will use our powers to intervene to make sure this important direction is followed.”