Bank of Ireland UK fined £3.7m after introducing anti-fraud tool a year late

The safeguard was not applied to payments totalling around £6.9 billion, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) said.

The confirmation of payee name checking service aims to reduce risk (Dominic Lipinski/PA) (PA Archive)

Bank of Ireland UK has been fined more than £3.7 million for missing a deadline by more than a year to put in place a “vital” service that helps to protect people from fraud and payments accidentally being misdirected.

The £3,779,300 fine was issued by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), for implementing a system to send requests for confirmation of payee checks 14 months after the deadline.

As a result, the safeguard was not applied to transactions involving more than 1.14 million new payees, with payments totalling around £6.9 billion.

The bank was directed to have a system in place to send and receive confirmation of payee requests by October 31 2023.

Confirmation of payee is an account name checking service designed to protect customers when making payments.

It aims to reduce the risk of financial loss from authorised push payment (APP) scams – where criminals pose as legitimate organisations to trick people into sending money – and misdirected payments, helping to give people confidence when transferring cash.

The PSR said payment service providers had “ample time” to put the measure in place, after the PSR confirmed the requirement in October 2022.

David Geale, managing director at the PSR, said: “Confirmation of payee is a vital tool to combat fraud and misdirected payments, giving people confidence that their money is going exactly where they intend.

“Bank of Ireland UK had plenty of time to put the system in place, missing the deadline by more than a year put its customers at increased risk of fraud.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

“Where we see firms failing to comply with the confirmation of payee requirements and leaving customers without this critical protection, we will use our powers to intervene to make sure this important direction is followed.”

Bank of Ireland UK agreed to settle at an early stage of the enforcement decision-making process and therefore qualified for a 30% early settlement discount, the PSR said.

Were it not for the discount, the PSR would have imposed a financial penalty of around £5.4 million.

A statement from Bank of Ireland UK said: “Bank of Ireland UK fully acknowledges and sincerely apologises for the delay in implementing send requests for confirmation of payee, which has been in place for all customers since January 2025.

“The bank takes its regulatory obligations extremely seriously and regrets that this issue arose.

“Protecting customers from financial harm is of critical importance to us and we are investing more than ever to do this.

“From enhanced monitoring, the use of AI and strengthening our controls, we are continually improving our systems and processes to stay ahead of emerging threats and ensure customers can bank with confidence.”