LHV UK launches Confirmation of Payee to help tackle APP fraud

By Joy Dumasia

LHV UK, a banking services provider to over 200 FinTech and crypto companies, announced its Confirmation of Payee (CoP) service is now live for all its direct clients. Launched in July 2020, CoP is a fraud prevention system led by Pay.UK and operated with Open Banking, which confirms the recipient’s name matches the details held by the bank. This process addresses payment errors and rising incidents of Authorised Push Payment (‘APP’) fraud, where a consumer or a business gets tricked into approving a payment to a fraudster’s account. 

CoP supports payments to the UK local accounts and checks the payee details when using Faster Payment and CHAPS systems or setting up a Standing Order. LHV UK shall implement the CoP in two stages. Currently, other participants can check the names on the Company’s customer’s accounts matches their details. More functionalities will be added in the future, and LHV UK’s customers can check payee details for outbound transactions when making a payment. 

During the Queen’s speech at the beginning of May, the UK government introduced the UK’s Financial Services and Markets Bill, which would grant the UK regulators the power to force banks to reimburse the victims of APP fraud, scrapping the current voluntary approach, which was set up in May 2019. While this improved compensation levels for the victims, the government said that the way it was applied is inconsistent, and the level of compensation varies significantly between banks.   

Erki Kilu, CEO of LHV UK, commented: “According to the UK Finance, fraud is now the most common crime in the UK. In the first half of 2021, cases of APP rose by 71% compared to the same period the year before and, for the first time, overtook card fraud in terms of the amount of money stolen. With regulators poised to get the power to force banks to reimburse the victims of APP fraud, CoP provides our clients and their end customers with an extra layer of defence against APP fraud and greater assurance that their payments are going to the right recipient.”

Recently, IBS Intelligence reported that LHV Group has successfully raised €35 million via an oversubscribed rights issue. A portion of the proceeds of the fundraise will be used to capitalise on the new UK bank, which is a key step in the banking licence application process.