GLOBAL PAYMENTS KNOWLEDGEISO 20022 / SWIFT / SEPA / MT / MX
PAYMENTSSIGNAL

The interactive academy for the standards, messages, and rails that move money.

GET IN TOUCH
VERIFICATION OF PAYEE

A warning that works: Verification of Payee returns NO MATCH

Trigger: The VoP check returns NO MATCH — the payee name the payer typed does not match the name on the account behind the IBAN.

Contributor Shubham Mathure

What operations sees first: Before any money moves, the payer is warned the name does not match and can decide whether to proceed.

WHERE IS THE MONEY?

Never left Riya's account — she abandoned before authorising.

DID SETTLEMENT HAPPEN?

Nothing settled; no interbank movement was ever submitted.

WHO ACTS NEXT?

Riya (payer) Riya confirms Arjun's correct account name and IBAN before retrying.

PLAY THE EXCEPTION

Trigger: The VoP result is NO MATCH — the name Riya typed does not match the name on the account behind the IBAN.

STEP 1 / 5MESSAGE

Riya sets up the payment

Riya (payer) → Bank Alfa (payer PSP)

Riya enters Arjun's name and IBAN and asks to send EUR 480.00 instantly. Nothing has moved yet — this is only the instruction being prepared for a check.

Step 1 of 5: Riya sets up the payment

  1. 01Message
    Riya sets up the paymentRiya (payer) → Bank Alfa (payer PSP)
  2. 02Message
    Bank Alfa asks Nordbank to verify the nameBank Alfa (payer PSP) → Nordbank (payee PSP) · VoP request
  3. 03Message
    Nordbank returns the check resultNordbank (payee PSP) → Bank Alfa (payer PSP) · VoP response
  4. 04 · EXCEPTION PATHMessage
    Bank Alfa warns Riya the name does not matchBank Alfa (payer PSP) → Riya (payer)
  5. 05 · EXCEPTION PATHProcessing
    Riya abandons the paymentRiya (payer) → Bank Alfa (payer PSP)
  6. OUTCOME
    Funds
    Never left Riya's account — she abandoned before authorising.
    Settlement
    Nothing settled; no interbank movement was ever submitted.
    Who acts next
    Riya (payer) — Riya confirms Arjun's correct IBAN before trying again; nothing needs to be unwound.
Full step-by-step text (works without JavaScript)
  1. 01Message
    Riya sets up the paymentRiya (payer) → Bank Alfa (payer PSP)

    Riya enters Arjun's name and IBAN and asks to send EUR 480.00 instantly. Nothing has moved yet — this is only the instruction being prepared for a check.

  2. 02Message
    Bank Alfa asks Nordbank to verify the nameBank Alfa (payer PSP) → Nordbank (payee PSP) · VoP request

    Verification of Payee (VoP) checks the payee name against the IBAN before the payment is authorised. Bank Alfa asks Nordbank whether the name Riya typed matches the account. This is identity verification, not a movement of money.

  3. 03Message
    Nordbank returns the check resultNordbank (payee PSP) → Bank Alfa (payer PSP) · VoP response

    Nordbank compares the submitted name with the name registered on the account and answers MATCH, CLOSE MATCH, or NO MATCH. It is a warning signal for the payer, separate from sanctions screening and from any movement of funds.

  4. 04 · EXCEPTION PATHMessage
    Bank Alfa warns Riya the name does not matchBank Alfa (payer PSP) → Riya (payer)

    VoP is a warning that empowers the payer, not an automatic system block — Bank Alfa tells Riya the name does not match the account and leaves the decision with her.

  5. 05 · EXCEPTION PATHProcessing
    Riya abandons the paymentRiya (payer) → Bank Alfa (payer PSP)

    Warned that the name does not match, Riya decides not to send the money and cancels the setup. The control worked exactly as intended: a likely misdirected payment stopped before it started.

  6. OUTCOME
    Funds
    Never left Riya's account — she abandoned before authorising.
    Settlement
    Nothing settled; no interbank movement was ever submitted.
    Who acts next
    Riya (payer) — Riya confirms Arjun's correct IBAN before trying again; nothing needs to be unwound.

THE TIMELINE

  1. 01Bank Alfa (payer PSP)
    Sends a Verification of Payee request to Nordbank to check Arjun's name against the IBAN Riya entered.VoP request
  2. 02Nordbank (payee PSP)
    Compares the submitted name with the registered account name and returns NO MATCH.VoP response
  3. 03Bank Alfa
    Warns Riya the name does not match the account; VoP is a warning that empowers the payer, not an automatic block.
  4. 04Riya (payer)
    Abandons the payment and checks Arjun's correct IBAN before trying again — nothing needs to be unwound.

Resolution: Mandatory in the euro area from 9 October 2025 under the EU Instant Payments Regulation, VoP verifies the payee before authorisation. A NO MATCH stops a likely misdirected payment before it starts — no money moved, so there is nothing to reverse.

LEARN THE CONCEPTS

Sources for this scenario2
  1. Scheme-specific ruleversion 1.1 (EPC218-23)

    Verification Of Payee scheme rulebook ↗ — European Payments Council · match result handling

    Governs the EPC Verification Of Payee scheme under which PSPs check a payee's name against the account identifier before a credit transfer is sent. · Checked 2026-07-12

    The first rulebook version entered into force on 5 October 2025; version 1.1 was published in March 2026 to address issues found after deployment, and the EPC has announced a version 2.0 for later in 2026.

  2. Simplified educational illustration

    Payments Signal editorial teaching models — Payments Signal

    This site's own simplified teaching models. · Checked 2026-07-12

    What this simplifies: Single-CSM/single-cycle model; institution-specific handling and exact scheme timings vary.

    Used wherever diagrams, scenarios, figures, or example values are didactic constructions rather than sourced facts; every such use carries a simplifications disclosure. All people, companies, banks, and list entries in examples are fictional.