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Confirmation of Payee checks your digital banking payments. 

To reduce the risk of paying the wrong person by mistake and to help protect you from scams, Westpac and the New Zealand banking industry are bringing in a service to check digital banking payments, called Confirmation of Payee. 

What it means for you.

When you add a new person or business to pay, make a one-off payment or edit an existing payment to a New Zealand bank account through Westpac One® digital banking, the service will:

  1. Check the name you’ve entered (the payee) against the account holder name of the bank account you’re paying into
  2. Give you a result of ‘match’, ‘partial match’, or ‘not a match’ so you can decide whether to go ahead with the payment before any money leaves your account
  3. If you’re paying into a bank that doesn’t provide the service, the service will give the result ‘can’t check account details’.

You can choose to go ahead with a payment even if you get a ‘partial match’, ‘not a match’ or ‘can’t check account details’ result, but:

  • You should only go ahead if you’re sure the account number is correct
  • You may not be able to recover a payment if it has gone to the wrong account.

If you’re expecting a payment, make sure the person paying you has the correct account holder name and number.

When does the service start.

Confirmation of Payee will be gradually rolled out in Westpac One from December 2024. 

When the service starts for your account, it will check the account holder name and number you enter when you edit or set up a new payment in Westpac One.

What it won’t check.

The service only checks new or changed Westpac One payees. It won’t check:

  • New payments to payees you’ve already set up in Westpac One
  • Existing automatic payments, unless you change the details
  • Direct debits
  • Registered bill payees (businesses you can pay from a drop-down menu in digital banking)
  • Credit, debit or EFTPOS card payments
  • International payments.

If your business uses Westpac One Business, Business Online or Corporate Online digital banking, or other speciality platforms your outgoing payments won’t be checked as the service will only be available in Westpac One.

Making payments. 

Which name the service checks

The name you use for a business or a person may not match their account holder name. Check before you set them up as a payee, edit their payment details or make a one-off payment.

Personal accounts

For personal accounts, the service checks the legal first name and surname you used when you set up or updated your account.

Business accounts

For business accounts, the service checks the account holder name - the legal name of the business. The service also checks the trading name for those businesses who bank with Westpac and have provided it to us.

Using the trading name for a payment may result in a ‘partial match’ or ‘not a match’ result if we don’t have it.

Joint accounts

If you’re paying a joint account, the check will give a ‘match’ result if the name you have entered matches the legal first name and surname of any of the account holders.

Accounts managed by a parent or guardian

If you're a guardian for someone (like a child), use their legal first name and surname when sharing their account holder name and making payments.

If you're paying a child or a person with a guardian, the service will give a match result if you enter either their name or their parent or guardian’s name (if the parent or guardian manages the account).

Watch out for scams.

You’ll still need to watch out for scams, learn how to avoid them and get help as soon as you can if you think you’ve been scammed:

  • Payments that you make or authorise yourself are generally not considered fraudulent. It’s likely that you will be liable for any losses incurred and it can be difficult to recover money once you’ve made a payment
  • Scammers may target you while this service is being rolled out.  If you receive a phone call about this service from someone claiming to be from Westpac asking for account details, hang up and call us on 0800 400 600. For more on scams, check out our scams hub.

Getting paid.

Share your account holder name and number.

You can now find and share your account holder name and number from the account details screen in Westpac One and Westpac One Business:  

  1. Log in to Westpac One or Westpac One Business
  2. Select the account you want the payment to go to
  3. Select Account details (Details for Westpac One on a mobile app) to check your account holder name
  4. Select the icon to copy and share

Make sure you have the latest version of the Westpac One app to share your details easily. Check How do I update the Westpac One® online banking app.

Westpac One Android app

Westpac One iPhone app

Westpac One browser

 

Westpac One Business

Don’t have Westpac One?

If you’re paying through phone banking, visiting the branch or using cash, now’s a great time to set up Westpac One. It’s a safe and simple way to set up a new person or business to pay, make payments, check your account holder name and manage your banking.

We’re here to help. Call us on 0800 400 600, weekdays 7am to 8pm and weekends 8am to 5pm.