Swift today announced it has been selected to build a service that will reduce the risk of misdirected payments and increase defences against payment fraud, providing Australians with more confidence when sending money. Swift, which built and runs the NPP, was chosen by Australian Payments Plus (AP+) to build confirmation of payee, which is a security measure that helps protect consumers from fraud by confirming the identity of the payee before a payment is made. This is done by comparing the payee’s name entered by the payer with the name associated with the payee’s account. The service would be delivered via the NPP, standardised APIs, and a centralized account matching service managed by AP+. 

Swift’s selection to develop the Confirmation of Payee service for the NPP builds on its capabilities in AI and data services, including Payment Pre-validation for cross-border payments, that is already eliminating international payment friction with upfront account verification. 

Suresh Rajalingam, Head of Oceania at Swift, said: “We are delighted to be working with AP+ and NPP participants to develop this important new service for Australian consumers. Making payments safe, instant, and frictionless is at the heart of everything we  do at Swift, and we are committed to supporting the Australian financial industry in its fight  against scammers.” 

Adrian Lovney, Chief Payment and Schemes Officer at AP+, said: “The development of an industry-wide Confirmation of Payee service will play an important role in reducing certain types of scams resulting in misdirection of payment to the wrong account as well as avoid mistaken payments being made to incorrect account numbers. AP+ is committed to working with the industry to better protect consumers and businesses as part of a collective effort to combat fraud and scams. Swift was the logical choice to partner with  us in developing this important service, building on the strong partnership that we have  had in place for a number of years.”  

Features of the new service will be progressively built and tested in 2024, allowing financial institutions to integrate it into their banking channels starting in 2025.