Confirmation of Payee

Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is an account name checking service facilitated by Pay.UK. It is designed to reduce fraud, prevent payments from being sent to the wrong accounts and enhance the security of customers' accounts by requiring name checks to be carried out between bank or building society accounts.

Newcastle Building Society joined the Confirmation of Payee scheme in September 2024.

What does this mean for my account?

Sending payments to your Newcastle Building Society account

If you already have a regular payment set up to send funds to your Newcastle Building Society account, you do not need to do anything. Your existing payment will continue to be paid into your account.

If you are a new or existing customer setting up a payment to your account or you set up a new payment to your account, you will now need to send the payment to the following details:

• Beneficiary: Your first and last name
• Account Number: 00000008
• Sort Code: 23-59-54
• Reference: Your Newcastle Building Society account number

When sending your payment from your UK bank or building society account you should now get a ‘match’ if the account details have been input correctly, providing assurance that your payment will reach the intended account.

Setting up or changing my nominated linked account

If you set up or change your nominated linked account for your online savings account, we will now perform a Confirmation of Payee check as part of the process. This will ensure that the UK bank or building society account that you link to your savings account is held in your name and the details of the account match.

As part of this check, we will confirm to you whether the details of the account you have entered ‘match’. If the account details are a ‘match’ we will proceed to set up or change your nominated linked account as requested.

If the details of the account you have provided do not provide a ‘match’, you will be asked to provide a bank statement to show that the account is held in your name.

How do I opt out of Confirmation of Payee?

Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is a service available to protect our customers and their money. It protects them from fraudsters and scammers and ensures that the payment goes to the correct person. 

In line with financial regulations, all eligible customers have automatically been opted in for CoP. The CoP system allows us to check the name on the account matches the details provided to us by our customers. It also helps us to confirm the name on your account with us matches your details, and can help us to protect you from fraud. 

We can agree to opt out requests in exceptional circumstances. However, please note, by opting out of CoP, individuals or companies wishing to make a payment to your account will be unable to use the CoP service to verify your account and therefore result in the payment not being made.

If you wish to opt out of the CoP scheme, please complete and return the below form to us at the following address:

Newcastle Building Society, 1 Cobalt Park Way, Wallsend, NE28 9EJ.

View and download the Opt Out/Opt Back In form for Confirmation of Payee (PDF, 93kB). 

Alternatively, you can call us on 0345 734 4345, we are open from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, or pop into your local branch.

We will get back to you within 30 days. Please note not all accounts can opt out, once we have reviewed your request we will contact you to let you know.

Opting back into Confirmation of Payee

If you have previously requested for your account to be opted out of CoP, you can decide to opt back in. You can do this using the form above and following the instructions provided for returning the form.

How do I make a complaint about Confirmation of Payee?

If you wish to make a complaint about Confirmation of Payee, please follow the information provided on our complaints page.