The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has fined Bank of Ireland UK £3.7m for failing to implement Confirmation of Payee (CoP) checks.

The regulator found that the bank introduced a system to send requests for CoP checks 14 months after the deadline of 31 October 2023, and as a result, the safeguard was not applied to transactions involving more than 1.14 million new payees.

These payments totalled more than £6.9bn.

CoP allows people to confirm the account they’re sending money to is the one they expect, and the PSR said it is an important mechanism in combating fraud and in giving people confidence when making online payments.

The regulator stated that payment service providers had "ample time" to put the measure in place, after the requirement was confirmed in October 2022.

Bank of Ireland UK was the last Group 1 payment service provider to achieve compliance.

Following the investigation, the bank agreed to settle at an early stage of the enforcement decision-making process, meaning that it qualified for a 30% early settlement discount under the PSR’s settlement procedures. Without the discount, the PSR would have imposed a £5.4m financial penalty.

Managing director at the PSR, David Geale, concluded: "CoP is a vital tool to combat fraud and misdirected payments, giving people confidence that their money is going exactly where they intend.

"Bank of Ireland UK had plenty of time to put the system in place, missing the deadline by more than a year put its customers at increased risk of fraud. Where we see firms failing to comply with the CoP requirements and leaving customers without this critical protection, we will use our powers to intervene to make sure this important direction is followed."

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