Forum

First Direct A/C name checks concern
 

I received this email and it suggest mismatched name problems ?

Dear Mr Knowname

It’s our job as your bank to make it as easy as possible for you to stay secure and in control of your money. In line with this, we’ll be introducing some new features over the coming months.

Account name checks
Whether you’re paying a friend, family member or your window cleaner, we know you want to be certain you’re setting up the right account details for the people you need to send money to.

first direct, along with other major banks, have signed up to a new code of conduct to help protect all our customers from so called “authorised push payment” scams, when people are tricked into sending money to fraudsters, who often pretend to be organisations they are not.

What does it mean for you?
The full account name check is due to be launched next year. From then, when you set up a new payment or amend an existing one, you’ll be able to check if the payment details you’ve entered for the person or business, match the details their bank holds. This will mean you can set up new payments with more confidence.

It will also mean anyone making a payment to you will be able to check they’re paying the right person. We’ll confirm to their bank whether or not your account holder name and account type match the details they’ve provided. If there’s a close but not perfect match, we’ll share your account holder name with the requesting bank to let their customer know.

How does it work?
The first stage, coming at the end of this year, is for us to respond to requests for confirmation from other banks where people are trying to pay you. This is all being done in line with our privacy policy.

Read our Privacy Policy here

Next year we’ll roll out the full service. We’ll be back in touch with more details nearer the time.

The banks involved may launch this service at different points, so it’s really important you make sure anyone who needs to pay money into your account knows your correct account holder name.

Re: First Direct A/C name checks concern
 

very interesting !