Bank customers are being advised to prepare for changes in how they send and receive money, with the introduction of SEPA Instant Payments and Verification of Payee (VoP) from this month.
Banks and credit unions have started rolling out SEPA Instant payments, which will allow personal and business customers to make a euro payment within ten seconds, 24 hours a day.
Customers will also get a confirmation within ten seconds of making a payment that it has been received by the payee.
The services are being introduced as part of the EU's Instant Payments Regulation.
Since January banks and payment service providers across the eurozone have been required to receive SEPA Instant payments and from 9 October will be required to offer their customers the ability to send SEPA Instant payments.
Alongside this, Verification of Payee (VoP) will also be introduced for both SEPA Instant and standard SEPA payments.
VoP works by automatically checking that the name of the person or business a customer intends to pay matches the actual name on the recipient's account.
This added layer of security is designed to ensure payments are going to the right recipient.
Banks are asking customers to check that their existing payee names match with the actual name on the payee’s bank account and if not, they should update them.
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For example, any payees listed using descriptions like 'rent’ or ‘creche’ should be updated to the correct account name.
In the lead up to the changes, Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) has launched a public awareness campaign, which includes an information website (Payrightnow.ie).
According to research from BPFI, almost three-quarters (74%) of people in Ireland worry about transferring money from their bank account to the wrong person or business, and one in five adults have accidently transferred money or been scammed into transferring money from their bank account to the wrong person or business.
Head of Payments with BPFI Gillian Byrne said the rollout of SEPA Instant Payments and VoP "marks a major step forward in providing faster and more secure payment services to Irish consumers and businesses".
"From next week SEPA Instant will offer near real-time payment processing across all banks and payment service providers enabling consumers and businesses to make and receive payments within ten seconds 24/7.
"In parallel with this we will also see the implementation of Verification of Payee or VOP which will add an extra layer of security for customers by providing them with greater control and confidence when making payments.
"VOP checks will automatically take place on both standard and instant SEPA payments and compare the name of your payee with the actual name on the recipient’s account. When the check is complete, customers will be advised if there is match, close match or no match and can then choose to proceed with the payment, correct the name and retry, or cancel the payment," she added.
