Munich, 10 November 2025. The EU-wide introduction of IBAN name verification (Verification of Payee, VoP) a month ago marks a significant step towards more secure payment processes. Since then, banks and payment service providers have been required to check whether the name and IBAN of a payee match before executing a transfer. The aim is to reduce incorrect transfers and fraud while strengthening confidence in digital payment processes. Depending on how financial institutions set up their verification procedures, this has different implications for online retailers.
For e-commerce companies and payment service providers, however, this means that those who fail to adapt their internal processes risk failed payments, increased support costs, and, in the worst case, lost customers.
Gini, a provider of AI-based solutions for banks, insurance companies, and e-commerce, highlights five steps that companies should take to ensure seamless payment processes and explains which payment methods can simplify them:
- Consistent naming of legal entities
Companies should ensure that the official account holder’s name is listed consistently everywhere – from the online shop to invoices to the QR code on receipts. Differences between brand names, shop names, or sub-brands can otherwise lead to error messages in the payment process. Consistent presentation ensures that the Verification of Payee check clearly recognises the payee and that payments are processed smoothly. - Uniform spelling
Even small differences in spelling or formatting can lead to false alarms. It is therefore advisable to define rules for upper and lower case letters, umlauts (e.g. ‘ä’/‘ae’), and legal form suffixes. This ensures that variants such as ‘Müller GmbH’ and ‘Mueller GmbH’ are recognised correctly. Consistent spelling significantly increases acceptance during Verification of Payee checks. - Secure provision of payment information
Payment information should be provided securely and consistently. Depending on the invoice format, there are various ways of implementing this:
Online: IBAN and account holder should be displayed in the logged-in customer account. In emails or PDFs, it is better to link to this account information rather than displaying it in plain text.
Paper: The IBAN may be included on invoices, ideally supplemented by an EPC/GiroCode and the clearly assigned legal entity. This protects the data from manipulation by third parties and facilitates reconciliation for VoP checks. - Standardised handover
To avoid errors when transferring payment data, customers should be able to transfer payment information automatically to their banking system without having to type it in manually. QR codes or automated interfaces ensure that all details are transmitted consistently. This ensures that name-IBAN matching works reliably and payment cancellations are minimised. - Add aliases at the bank
Some banks and savings banks now offer the option of adding so-called alias payee names to the business account in addition to the existing registered account holder name. Upon separate request, the financial institution then expands its Verification of Payee procedures. This means that, in addition to the official account holder name, other names (i.e., alias payee names) can also be registered and processed in the bank or savings bank’s systems. This reduces the number of possible error messages and makes it safer for online retailers to receive payments.
“Verification of Payee (VoP) is more than just a regulatory requirement – it is an opportunity to make the payment process safer and smoother for customers,” says Alexander Jäger, CEO Gini GmbH. “Companies must take action to reap the benefits. This starts with the quality of master data, continues with technical implementation and extends to clear communication with customers.”
Photo Payments and QR Code Payments Prevent False Alarms
Warning messages during Verification of Payee checks protect consumers and businesses from incorrect transfers and fraud. In practice, however, many of these messages occur because users make small mistakes when entering data: a transposed character in the name or an incorrect digit in the IBAN is enough for the system to report a discrepancy. This is exactly where photo payments and QR code payments come in. They capture the relevant payment data – i.e., account holder, IBAN, amount, and purpose – directly from a document or code.
The subsequent Verification of Payee comparison only signals a discrepancy if there is actually a difference in content, not because a mistake was made when typing. This makes Verification of Payee (VoP) more accurate, efficient, and significantly more reliable for customers and businesses alike.
