Bank transfer security strengthened from October 9

Starting October 9, in accordance with a European regulation, all banks in the Eurozone will implement this new service, which will require the entry of a name for all transfers.

"This system aims to secure bank transfers by verifying that the name of the beneficiary provided by the customer corresponds to the IBAN (account number, editor's note) of the recipient account," to provide "reinforced protection against fraud," the professional federation indicates.

When an individual makes a transfer (instant or traditional), their bank will automatically query the beneficiary's bank to verify in real time that the name entered matches the IBAN number.

The customer will then be informed of the result and will be able to "decide to correct or confirm their transfer", and "in the event of a mismatch, the customer retains the freedom to execute the transfer, but with full knowledge of the facts", underlines the FBF.

This free service should help prevent fraud, "particularly that linked to identity theft or the manipulation of bank details," the federation adds.

It also helps reduce data entry errors when adding a new beneficiary.

The FBF therefore recommends "using full and exact names for beneficiaries" and "checking for mismatch alerts before validating a transfer."