NAB has announced its support for the launch of the new Confirmation of Payee system, aimed at reducing scams in the banking industry. This system, part of the Australian Banking Association's Scam-Safe Accord and developed by AP+, is designed to verify account names and numbers entered by customers against those held at receiving banks.
Chris Sheehan, NAB Executive for Group Investigations, emphasized that this initiative is intended to ensure that money transfers are made to the correct recipients. "Scammers are criminal grubs who will do anything to rip Australians off. We are committed to innovating and using technology to help stop the crime and protect people," he stated.
The Confirmation of Payee system is expected to address issues such as business email compromise scams and mistaken payments. Mr. Sheehan explained that these scams often involve criminals hacking into business email accounts to alter payment details without detection.
Mr. Sheehan was joined by outgoing Australian Banking Association CEO and Assistant Treasurer Dr. Daniel Mulino at NAB’s Fraud Operations Centre for the announcement. He highlighted how customers will be able to see if their entered account details match those held by the payee's bank, which could indicate a potential scam if they do not match.
"We have to disrupt the scam ecosystem and stop the crime occurring in the first place to drive these criminals out of Australia," Mr. Sheehan added, noting that ongoing collaboration with government and regulators on Scams Prevention Framework rules is crucial.
Currently, Confirmation of Payee is being implemented in NAB's App and Internet Banking services but does not yet include NAB Connect, NAB Trade, Ubank, or branch payments.
Further information about Confirmation of Payee can be found on both the ABA website and NAB’s dedicated pages on scam prevention.