Swift, a global leader in financial messaging services, has announced its selection to develop a groundbreaking service aimed at reducing the risk of misdirected payments and strengthening defences against payment fraud in Australia. This initiative, spearheaded by Australian Payments Plus (AP+), aims to instil greater confidence among Australians when sending money by implementing a robust security measure known as Confirmation of Payee.

Confirmation of Payee is designed to safeguard consumers from fraud by verifying the identity of the payee before a payment is initiated. This is achieved by cross-referencing the payee’s name entered by the payer with the name associated with the payee’s account. Swift, renowned for building and operating the New Payments Platform (NPP), has been selected by AP+ to develop this service, which will be delivered via the NPP, standardized APIs, and a centralized account matching service managed by AP+.

Swift’s appointment to develop the Confirmation of Payee service for the NPP underscores its expertise in AI and data services, including Payments Pre-validation for cross-border payments. These capabilities are already streamlining international payments by enabling upfront account verification, thus reducing friction in the payment process.

Suresh Rajalingam, Head of Oceania at Swift, expressed enthusiasm about collaborating with AP+ and NPP participants to develop this vital service, stating, “Making payments safe, instant, and frictionless is at the heart of everything we do at Swift, and we are committed to supporting the Australian financial industry in its fight against scammers.”

Adrian Lovney, Chief Payment and Schemes Officer at AP+, emphasized the importance of the Confirmation of Payee service in combating fraud and enhancing consumer protection. He stated, “The development of an industry-wide Confirmation of Payee service will play an important role in reducing certain types of scams resulting in the misdirection of payment to the wrong account as well as avoid mistaken payments being made to incorrect account numbers. AP+ is committed to working with the industry to better protect consumers and businesses as part of a collective effort to combat fraud and scams. Swift was the logical choice to partner with us in developing this important service, building on the strong partnership that we have had in place for several years.”

The new service’s features will be gradually built and tested throughout 2024, enabling financial institutions to integrate it into their banking channels starting in 2025. This initiative marks a significant step forward in enhancing payment security and bolstering consumer confidence in Australia’s financial ecosystem.