What is the difference between VoP and Confirmation of Payee?

They do the same job. Confirmation of Payee is the UK service, launched in 2020 and run under Pay.UK rules. Verification of Payee is the EU version, required by the Instant Payments Regulation and run under the European Payments Council's VOP scheme since October 2025.

What they share

Both compare the payee name entered by the payer with the account holder name before a transfer, and both return a match, close match or no match result. Both aim to reduce authorized push payment fraud and misdirected payments.

Where they differ

• Geography: UK accounts for CoP, euro accounts across the EU and EEA for VoP.
• Legal basis: CoP started under a regulatory direction to the largest banks and later spread; VoP is set by an EU regulation for all PSPs offering euro transfers.
• Identifiers: CoP uses sort code and account number; VoP uses the IBAN.
• Operation: CoP runs under Pay.UK rules; VoP runs under the EPC scheme.

Cross-border transfers

A transfer from the UK to the euro area is not covered by both checks end to end. Coverage depends on the route.

What it means for payment operators

For platforms paying out in the UK and the euro area, both checks apply to transfers. Keeping verified legal names for each beneficiary from onboarding helps payouts pass in both systems.