- The new service will help reduce scams by ensuring consumers can confirm they are transferring funds to the intended person or entity
Sydney, 19 March 2024 – 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 centralised 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 Payments Pre-validation for cross-border payments, that is already eliminating international payments 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 a 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 along 2024, allowing financial institutions to integrate it into their banking channels starting 2025.
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ABOUT SWIFT
Swift is a global member owned cooperative and the world’s leading provider of secure financial messaging services. We provide our community with a platform for messaging and standards for communicating, and we offer products and services to facilitate access and integration, identification, analysis and regulatory compliance.
Our messaging platform, products and services connect more than 11,500 banking and securities organisations, market infrastructures and corporate customers in more than 200 countries and territories. While Swift does not hold funds or manage accounts on behalf of customers, we enable our global community of users to communicate securely, exchanging standardised financial messages in a reliable way, thereby supporting global and local financial flows, as well as trade and commerce all around the world.
As their trusted provider, we relentlessly pursue operational excellence; we support our community in addressing cyber threats; and we continually seek ways to lower costs, reduce risks and eliminate operational inefficiencies. Our products and services support our community’s access and integration, business intelligence, reference data and financial crime compliance needs. Swift also brings the financial community together – at global, regional and local levels – to shape market practice, define standards and debate issues of mutual interest or concern.
Headquartered in Belgium, Swift’s international governance and oversight reinforces the globally inclusive character of its cooperative structure. Swift’s global office network ensures an active presence in all the major financial centres.
