SWIFT Code Guide

Verification of payee: the IBAN name check

The EU payee name check under Regulation (EU) 2024/886: match, close match or no match, and why the payer can still send the money.

Official source: EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2024/886, Article 5c of Regulation 260/2012. Checked

3 min. read · Review scheduled for 2027-01-24

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What changed

Regulation (EU) 2024/886 (the Instant Payments Regulation) inserted a new Article 5c, "Verification of the payee", into Regulation (EU) No 260/2012. Payment service providers in euro-area Member States had to apply it from 9 October 2025; providers in Member States outside the euro area must apply it from 9 July 2027 (Article 5c(9)) (EUR-Lex). The European Commission's announcement of 10 October 2025 sums the change up for the public (European Commission).

The three results the payer can see

The check runs straight after you type the payee's details and before you authorise the transfer, in every channel (app, online banking, branch). Your bank asks the payee's bank whether the name and the IBAN belong together, and then shows one of these outcomes:

Result What your bank must do (Art. 5c)
Match Nothing more to show; you continue as normal.
Close match (the name "almost matches") Show you the name of the payee that is actually linked to that IBAN.
No match Tell you that the name and the IBAN do not match.

When you get a close match or a no match, the bank must also warn you that authorising the transfer may send the money to an account that is not held by the payee you meant (Art. 5c(7)).

You still decide

This is the point most summaries get wrong. The check is a warning, not a block. Article 5c(5) says the verification must not prevent the payer from authorising the transfer. So a payment can still go to an IBAN whose holder has a different name, if you confirm it after the warning. The Commission's press text speaks of the payment going ahead only when the name matches; the binding text in the Regulation leaves the final choice to the payer.

Who pays if it goes wrong

  • If your bank did the check properly and you chose to pay after a no-match warning, the bank is not liable for the money reaching the wrong account (Art. 5c(8)).
  • If your bank failed to run the check or to warn you, and the money went astray as a result, it must refund you without delay (Art. 5c(8)).

Other details in the Article

  • Free of charge. The service costs payment service users nothing (Art. 5b(2)).
  • Business batches. Customers who are not consumers can opt out when they send several transfers as a package, and opt back in at any time (Art. 5c(6)).
  • Company payees. Where the payee is a legal person and the payee's bank holds an identifier such as an LEI or tax number, a mismatch on that data is also reported (Art. 5c(1)(b)).

What it means for the BIC

The check compares the IBAN and the name. The BIC plays no part, which fits the EPC position that the IBAN alone is enough for euro SEPA transfers (EPC).

Our reading, in plain terms

  • A match tells you the name belongs to that IBAN. It does not tell you the invoice is genuine or that the person asking for the money is who they claim to be.
  • A no match on a supplier you have paid before is a reason to phone them on a number you already had before you confirm. See wire transfer scams.
  • Outside the EU and before 9 July 2027 in non-euro EU states, this check may not be offered at all.

Check an IBAN's structure with the IBAN checker.