In 2024 alone, cases reached a record high of 421,000, costing UK businesses £1.17 billion. That equates to nearly £2,230 every minute.
Invoice fraud is one of the most common types of fraud in the UK, and the emerging trend of AI generated invoices isn’t making this any easier to combat. Forging invoices was something that previously took hours. Now, with generative AI, it takes just seconds. The Rise in AP Fraud report discovered that 62% of organisations felt generative AI was the primary contributor to the increase of fraud.
As a result, data validation is more important than ever. That’s where bank account verification comes in.
Have you ever needed to pay a high value invoice but worry there may be a mistake in the payment details? Maybe you’re concerned that a payment request has come from a dubious source.
Bank account verification confirms the account details you have are precise and belong to the intended recipient, helping businesses to avoid fraud and payment errors.
Open Banking
Also known as automatic bank account verification, businesses can partner with a third-party provider to verify the account details in real-time. The customer will consent to open banking via their bank’s portal, allowing the provider to run a check on account details against a database to confirm if there’s a match.
Microdeposit
Microdeposit verification involves sending small monetary transfers to the customer’s account to verify the ownership. This is a low-cost and simple way to verify an account, but it is also one of the slower methods, as it can take time for the deposit to reach the account. This option is better for one-off payments.
Document Verification
In this scenario, the customer is expected to provide the merchant with the necessary documents from their banking provider, such as bank statements. This method is great for ensuring compliance and having full visibility, but it’s a time consuming, manual task, and can come with concerns over data privacy.
Confirmation of Payee (CoP)
Simple, yet highly effective, this is a digital name-checking service which allows users to enter bank details and instantly verify if they are a match, flagging any discrepancies. Most of us will already be familiar with this method from making personal payments through mobile banking. CoP is what powers our Bank Verification tool.
International IBAN Checker
Similar to CoP, this is a digital name-checking service, but for international payments using IBAN. Again, all users need to do is enter the account information for instant verification.
Our Bank Verification tool instantly validates sort codes and account numbers, linking customers, suppliers and bank accounts, meaning you can send payments in confidence that they’re going to the right place.
Just one wrong digit in a sort code or account number can result in a failed payment, or worse: payments landing in the wrong account. Data from Bottomline revealed that 43% of finance teams spend more than four hours each month fixing problem transactions, which is time that could be far better utilised elsewhere.
Our Bank Verification tool validates the format of account numbers and sort codes, and applies modulus checks to ensure the account number is valid for the given sort code.
Invoice fraud is one of the fastest-growing threats to UK businesses. 70% of invoice and mandate scam losses affect business accounts, with almost £50m in losses. Learn more about invoice fraud in our full guide, including what it is, preventative tips, real-world examples, and how bank verification can help.
Powered by Confirmation of Payee (CoP), users of our Bank Verification tool can confirm that the account name matches the account number and sort code. Discrepancies are flagged before payment is released.
By verifying bank details during onboarding, you can ensure compliance with both internal procedures and external regulations (KYC/AML), which not only helps you to avoid any penalties but also builds customer trust. Account ownership is confirmed in real-time, and you won’t need to go back-and-forth with suppliers over payment issues.
With the latest Bank Verification tool, we've seen an increase in the number of verifications that go through. The new process is not only quicker, but also standardises the process, making it simpler and much more accurate than our previous method.
Melanie Chandler - Operation Procurement Officer
Sovereign Network Group
Enter details
The user enters the payee's bank details including account number, sort code, account name and type.
Basic check
A basic check is performed to ensure the details provided follow the correct format.
Further checks
The payee details are then checked against an extensive database of bank account information to confirm the legitimacy of an active account.
Real-time confirmation
The details are confirmed in real-time by securely exchanging directly with the bank to ensure the account exists and is active, adding that extra layer of security.
Find a match
Once the verification is complete, the system determines if there's a match, partial match, or no match, alerting users before completing the payee setup.
Creditsafe's Bank Verification tool can support you with any volume of accounts with ease. Through our API integration, you can verify account information in bulk, directly from your own system.
Alongside this, our Sort Code Checker, which uses the official Extended Industry Sort Codes Directory (EISCD), provides detailed bank and branch information so you can access insights such as:
Contact details - postal addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses
Payment schemes supported - Bacs, Faster Payments, CHAPS, Cheque and Credit Clearing
Branch/bank office title
Bank Office Identifier (BIC/sort code)
With Creditsafe’s Bank Verification tool, the process is much more streamlined and efficient. Clients no longer need to provide extra documentation, and we can confidently ensure that payments are sent to the correct accounts.
Luke Dodd - Head of Finance
Ashe Construction Limited
Bank Account Verification is a crucial component in fraud prevention by ensuring financial transactions' security, accuracy and integrity. Creditsafe’s Bank Account Verification tool is the easiest way to verify account details to prevent misdirected, accidental and fraudulent payments, with the largest coverage of bank account data in the UK - covering 97-99% of consumer and business bank records.