Introducing Confirmation of Payee

The New Zealand banking industry has launched the Confirmation of Payee service to help reduce the risk of paying the wrong person.

Confirmation of Payee at a glance

Confirmation of Payee can help you avoid sending money to the wrong place. Account providers that participate share information through a secure system. When using the BNZ app or Internet Banking to make a payment, the service checks if the account owner name and account number match information held about the account. This can give you more confidence when making payments.

Learn more at getverified.co.nz

How it works

When you set up a new payee, edit an existing payee, or make a one-off payment, we’ll check if the account owner name and account number match information held about the account. 

Based on the result of the check, you can decide whether to make the payment. If you’re not sure, verify the details with the person you’re paying before continuing.

Match

The account owner name and account number match information held about the account.

Partial match

The account owner name and account number aren’t an exact match. The name might have a typo or isn’t the exact name of the account owner.

No match

The account owner name and account number don’t match. You may have entered it wrong, or it might not be the account you mean to pay.

Partial or No match results

The Confirmation of Payee check can’t always identify mistakes. If money is sent to the wrong place, it’s unlikely we’ll be able to get it back. 

If you get a Partial or No match result, follow the steps below.

1. Verify

Contact the person or business you’re paying to verify their payment details.

2. Double check

Double check that you’ve entered the account owner name and account number correctly.

3. Pause

The service won’t stop you from making a payment, so pause and consider whether you trust that the person you’re paying is legitimate.

Share your account details

Sharing your account details from the BNZ app or Internet Banking now copies both your account owner name and account number. Open your account and select Share, beside the account number.

This feature won’t be available in the BNZ Business app.

Internet Banking for Business

To find your account details in Internet Banking for Business, follow these steps: 

  1. Login to Internet Banking for Business.
  2. Navigate to Account Details and select an account.
  3. Select the Share button, which appears next to the account dropdown. If the account is a joint or non personal account, you can pick the name you want to share.
  4. The name and number will copy to your clipboard. 

Sharing both your account owner name and account number with anyone paying your business will help make sure you’re paid easily.