Banks hit major milestones as scam-fighting technology stops thousands of risky transfers

Australians have now used Confirmation of Payee over 100 million times since the service was launched in July 2025, marking a major milestone in the banking industry’s efforts to protect consumers and businesses from scams and mistaken payments.

Part of the banking sector’s Scam-Safe Accord, Confirmation of Payee adds another layer of protection by allowing customers to confirm if the account name, BSB and account number match the details held by the recipient bank, all before hitting send.

Early results show strong customer awareness and adoption, with one bank reporting more than 450,000 payments abandoned by customers after receiving a ‘no match’ result. More than 10,000 of those abandoned payments were going to accounts listed on the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange, highlighting the role Confirmation of Payee is already playing in helping customers avoid potential scams.

“What these early results are showing is that Confirmation of Payee introduces just enough friction to prompt people to pause and reflect when account details don’t match, which is exactly what the system was designed to do,” said Adrian Lovney, Chief Product Officer at Australian Payments Plus (AP+), which designed and built the service.

ABA CEO Simon Birmingham said banks had invested $100 million in this scam-fighting technology which was helping to prevent Australians from transferring money directly into the hands of scammers.

“Confirmation of Payee has already helped thousands of banking customers avoid succumbing to the trickery and deception of scammers,” Mr Birmingham said.

“This technology is doing its job. It’s saving customers money by warning them that they could be about to send money to a dodgy scam account.”

The impact is already being seen on the ground. Recently, at a customer-owned bank in Newcastle, a pause triggered by Confirmation of Payee helped prevent a customer from losing $6,000 to a scam. While the business appeared legitimate, the bank account details it had provided to the customer did not match those held by the receiving bank. Branch staff suggested the customer verify the business’s ABN and insurance details. The customer returned the next day and confirmed it was a scam.

“With our people-first ethos, customer-owned banks are deeply committed to protecting Australians from scams. That’s why mutual banks and credit unions have worked tirelessly to implement this new layer of protection,” said Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) CEO Michael Lawrence.

“We believe a powerful defence combines technology and innovation with the trusted and personalised support our sector is known for.”
As of March 2026, the service is live across 83 financial institutions, reaching over 143 million bank accounts.

How it works

The Confirmation of Payee service activates when a customer makes a first-time payment using a BSB and account number. After entering the account name, and before making a payment, a matching service checks whether the information matches the recipient’s bank data.

• If the details match, the account name will be displayed for confirmation.
• If there’s a close match (e.g. “John Smyth” instead of “John Smith”), the customer will see the account name and can confirm if it’s correct.
• For individual accounts with no match, the customer will be shown a warning, and the account name won’t be shown to help protect privacy.
• For business and government accounts, the account name may still be shown regardless of the match outcome.

Using that information, the customer can then decide if they want to go ahead and make the payment, pause and check the details with the intended recipient, or stop the payment altogether.

Scams