PKO BP lets businesses verify recipients of euro transfers

PKO Bank Polski is extending Verification of Payee to check recipient details for transfers initiated by institutional customers. Its announcement of 2 November describes the next stage of implementation: after introducing responses to enquiries about accounts held at PKO BP in September, the bank is making verification available to businesses sending euro payments.

The solution compares an IBAN with the recipient’s name held by their bank. Businesses can also check an identifier such as an LEI in the relevant version of the service. Checks take place before a transfer is approved. Customers may receive a match, a close match, a mismatch or a message that verification is unavailable.

VoP is intended to help detect incorrect details and attempts to impersonate a business partner. A mismatch warning does not automatically stop a payment. The sender decides whether to proceed, and verification may be unavailable if the other bank does not participate in the system.

The service is being developed with KIR, which provides the exchange of requests and responses between participants. The bank announces free, round-the-clock availability, including iPKO biznes Integra and MultiCash/EBICS channels. This new stage strengthens the security of business euro payments and extends the earlier function for answering requests from other banks.