When entering a long IBAN, it’s easy to make a mistake and the money is on its way to the wrong recipient. Such mishaps can be costly and are often difficult to reverse. A new EU regulation is now intended to put an end to this problem and make payment transactions significantly safer.
Verification of Payee: Automatic data comparison with every transfer
From October 9, 2025, the new EU Regulation 2024/886, referred to as “Verification of Payee” (VoP), will come into force. According to the EU regulation, banks must then release everyone SEPA-Compare the name of the payee with the specified IBAN for the transfer. This recipient verification takes place automatically and within seconds.
The system works like this: As soon as a transfer is submitted, the bank checks whether the recipient’s name entered matches the actual IBAN account holder. If there are any discrepancies, the payer will be informed immediately and can decide whether they still want to carry out the transfer or cancel it. As a Techbook report on the new regulation shows, this check will be carried out for all SEPA transfers – regardless of the banking method or software used.
New liability regulations protect consumers
With the new regulation, the liability provisions also change significantly. If a bank does not carry out the required recipient verification and this results in a transfer error, the financial institution must be liable for the resulting damage. In this case, banks are obliged to immediately refund the transferred amount to the payer.
Liability depends on the result of the check: If the name and IBAN match, the bank is liable if something goes wrong. If there is no agreement or only a partial agreement and the customer transfers despite the warning, the payer remains liable. As a report by WirtschaftsWoche shows, this new regulation offers bank customers additional protection and strengthens trust in payment transactions.
What specifically changes for bank customers
For consumers, the new regulation means more security in practice with slightly longer processing times. The recipient verification process is automatic, but in the event of discrepancies it can lead to questions. Companies in particular should check their master data and ensure that the company name and account holder match.
The regulation applies to all 27 EU member states as well as Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Banks that work with foreign currencies have until July 2027 to implement it, as WirtschaftsWoche further reports. The new security measure means there are no additional fees for consumers. The regulation is part of a larger EU package that also makes real-time transfers within ten seconds mandatory for all banks.
D. Maier / editorial team finanzen.net