ClearBank is a solid option if you need a full banking stack with Confirmation of Payee built in. But what if you just need payee verification — without the banking infrastructure?

Many teams sign up for ClearBank to get CoP. Then they realize they’ve also committed to a clearing bank relationship, sort code allocation, and onboarding processes designed for regulated financial institutions.

If payee verification is the actual problem you’re solving, there are faster, lighter, and more global options. This guide compares five of them: MonitorPay.ai, SurePay, Modulr, Bottomline, and Trustpair.

What is ClearBank?

ClearBank launched in 2017 as the first new clearing bank in the UK in over 250 years. Its core product is embedded banking infrastructure — accounts, payments, and clearing services delivered via API.

Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is one feature inside that stack. It lets ClearBank customers verify recipient names before sending payments through UK rails (Faster Payments, CHAPS, Bacs).

ClearBank is a direct participant in Pay.UK’s CoP scheme. That means their CoP service connects directly to the receiving bank to check if the payee name matches the account. It also supports Secondary Reference Data (SRD) for accounts that need additional identifiers.

In late 2025, ClearBank expanded into Europe with SEPA Instant and Verification of Payee (VoP) capabilities.

What ClearBank offers

• Confirmation of Payee (CoP) for UK payments (inbound and outbound)
• CoP as a Service (CoPaaS) for clients who want to become direct Pay.UK participants
• Embedded banking (accounts, clearing, settlement)
• Access to Faster Payments, CHAPS, Bacs, SEPA
• FSCS-protected deposits
• Multi-currency accounts (GBP, EUR)
• API-first architecture

Where ClearBank works well

• You’re a regulated financial institution (EMI, bank, PSP)
• You need full UK payment rails plus CoP bundled together
• You want FSCS-protected client money accounts
• You’re building a neobank or embedded finance product

Where it falls short

• CoP is only available as part of the full banking relationship
• UK-only for payee verification (no global coverage)
• Onboarding is complex — designed for FCA-regulated firms
• No standalone verification API you can plug into existing workflows
• No company registry checks, ownership verification, or continuous monitoring
• Pricing isn’t public — requires direct engagement
• Overkill if you just need to verify a payee before sending money

ClearBank FAQs

1. What is ClearBank used for? ClearBank provides embedded banking infrastructure to fintechs, banks, and regulated financial institutions. Its core services include GBP and EUR accounts, UK payment scheme access, and Confirmation of Payee. Think of it as a full banking backend, not just a verification tool.
2. Does ClearBank offer Confirmation of Payee? Yes. ClearBank is a direct CoP participant through Pay.UK. They offer both standard CoP (bundled with their banking services) and CoP as a Service (CoPaaS), where clients become direct Pay.UK participants using ClearBank’s technical infrastructure.
3. How much does ClearBank cost? ClearBank doesn’t publish pricing. They charge a monthly subscription fee plus per-transaction costs. Pricing depends on the services you use and your volume. You’ll need to contact them directly for a quote.
4. Can non-regulated companies use ClearBank? Generally, no. ClearBank’s services are available to FCA-regulated businesses, financial institutions, and fintechs that have completed their onboarding process. Pre-regulated firms can apply, but you’ll still need regulatory status.
5. Does ClearBank work outside the UK? ClearBank expanded into Europe with SEPA and SEPA Instant capabilities. But their CoP service is UK-only (GBP sort code and account number). For European payee verification (VoP), they’re still building out coverage.

1. MonitorPay.ai

Best for: Teams that need global payee verification without a banking relationship

MonitorPay.ai is a verification infrastructure platform built specifically for payment security. Where ClearBank bundles CoP inside a full banking stack, MonitorPay gives you the verification layer as a standalone product.

The difference matters. With ClearBank, you’re signing up for a clearing bank relationship to get payee verification. With MonitorPay, you connect one API and start verifying payees across 150+ countries within a day.

MonitorPay covers the full verification chain: IBAN validation, payee name matching with fuzzy logic and transliteration, account ownership verification, account status checks, and continuous monitoring. It pulls data from 200+ official government registries and banking sources — not just the receiving bank’s records.

Pricing is transparent. €0.10 per check. 100 free checks to start. No monthly minimum. No annual commitment. You pay at the end of the month based on what you actually used.

What MonitorPay.ai offers

• IBAN Validation — confirms structure, format, country, and issuing bank for any IBAN worldwide
• Payee Name Verification — intelligent matching with fuzzy logic, transliteration, and confidence scoring. Handles abbreviations, nicknames, accents, and common misspellings
• Account Ownership Verification — confirms the legal owner of a bank account (person or business) through trusted banks and official registries
• Account Status & Activity Check — confirms whether an account is open, dormant, or closed before you send money
• Bulk Validation Tool — verify thousands of IBANs, payee names, or VAT numbers at once via API or file upload
• Continuous Monitoring & Alerts — track verified accounts over time. Get notified when ownership changes, accounts close, or fraud signals appear
• VAT Number Check — validate VAT numbers across EU, UK, and beyond with official company name and status

ClearBank vs MonitorPay.ai

	ClearBank	MonitorPay.ai
Payee name verification	Yes (UK CoP only)	Yes (150+ countries)
IBAN validation	No (separate service)	Yes
Account ownership check	No	Yes (from registries)
Account status check	No	Yes
Company registry data	No	Yes (200+ sources)
Continuous monitoring	No	Yes (webhook alerts)
VAT verification	No	Yes
Bulk verification	No	Yes
Coverage	UK (expanding to EU)	150+ countries
Standalone API	No (requires banking relationship)	Yes
Transparent pricing	No	Yes (€0.10/check)
Free tier	No	100 checks
Integration time	Weeks–months	Under 1 day
Requires FCA regulation	Yes	No

When to choose MonitorPay.ai over ClearBank

You don’t need a clearing bank. You need to verify payees.

MonitorPay makes sense when your team needs to confirm payment recipients before sending money — and you want to do it globally, not just in the UK. It’s built for finance, compliance, procurement, and product teams that want one API for the full verification flow.

The continuous monitoring piece is where it really separates from ClearBank. CoP is a point-in-time check: you verify the name, send the payment, done. MonitorPay keeps watching. If the account ownership changes, if the company status updates, if fraud signals appear — you get an alert.

For companies processing cross-border payments, onboarding international suppliers, or building payment products that serve multiple markets, MonitorPay replaces ClearBank’s verification layer with something that works everywhere.

When to stick with ClearBank

You actually need the banking infrastructure. If you’re building a fintech product that requires sort code allocation, payment clearing, and FSCS-protected accounts, ClearBank’s CoP is a natural add-on to services you need anyway.

MonitorPay.ai FAQs

1. How is MonitorPay.ai different from ClearBank?
   ClearBank is a clearing bank that includes CoP as part of its banking stack. MonitorPay is a standalone verification platform. You don’t need a banking relationship, FCA regulation, or sort code allocation to use it. You connect the API, verify payees, and go.
2. What countries does MonitorPay.ai cover?
   MonitorPay covers 150+ countries using data from 200+ government registries and banking sources. ClearBank’s CoP is limited to UK GBP accounts.
3. How much does MonitorPay.ai cost?
   €0.10 per check with 100 free checks included. No setup fee, no monthly minimum, no annual contract. Pay-as-you-go at the end of each month.
4. How long does MonitorPay.ai integration take?
   The site states under one day. The API is RESTful with standard JSON responses. Documentation and sandbox access are available immediately.
5. Does MonitorPay.ai do Confirmation of Payee?
   MonitorPay provides payee name verification that works globally — not just within the UK CoP scheme. For UK-specific regulatory CoP compliance (as a Pay.UK participant), you’d still need a CoP participant. But for the actual verification function — confirming a payee is who they claim to be — MonitorPay covers far more ground.

2. SurePay

Best for: Banks and PSPs that need CoP/VoP compliance in the Netherlands and UK

SurePay started in 2016 as a Rabobank spinoff. They built the IBAN-Name Check — a service that matches account holder names to IBANs in real time. It became the standard in the Netherlands and expanded into the UK with Confirmation of Payee.

Today, SurePay processes over 200 million verification checks per month. They cover 99.5% of Dutch bank accounts and around 90% of UK accounts. The company claims their service reduced Dutch payment fraud by 81%.

SurePay is a pure-play verification company. Unlike ClearBank, they don’t offer banking infrastructure, accounts, or payment clearing. You’re getting one thing: payee name matching at bank-level accuracy.

What SurePay offers

• IBAN-Name Check API (real-time name-to-account matching)
• Verification of Payee (VoP) for EU SEPA compliance
• Confirmation of Payee (CoP) for UK compliance
• Fraud Risk Indicator (flags suspicious accounts)
• Account Age Check (spots newly opened accounts)
• Switch Check (detects when someone changes banks)

ClearBank vs SurePay

	ClearBank	SurePay
Payee name verification	Yes (UK CoP)	Yes (NL + UK + expanding EU)
Confirmation of Payee	Yes (direct participant)	Yes (direct participant)
Verification of Payee (EU)	Building	Yes (live)
Fraud risk scoring	No	Yes
Account age check	No	Yes
Switch detection	No	Yes
Banking infrastructure	Yes	No
Standalone API	No	Yes
Monthly check volume	Not disclosed	200M+
Transparent pricing	No	No
Coverage	UK	NL, UK, expanding EU
Best for	Regulated fintechs needing full banking	Banks needing CoP/VoP compliance

When to choose SurePay over ClearBank

You’re a bank or PSP that needs dedicated payee verification without buying into a full banking stack. SurePay is the specialist — they’ve processed billions of checks and their matching algorithms are battle-tested at scale.

If your primary markets are the Netherlands and UK, SurePay’s coverage is hard to beat. They also have the most mature fraud indicators in this space: account age, switch detection, and risk scoring give you context beyond simple name matching.

For EU VoP compliance, SurePay is further ahead than ClearBank. They’ve been working with European banks on VoP since before the October 2025 mandate.

When to stick with ClearBank

You need UK payment clearing and want CoP bundled in. If you’re already using ClearBank for accounts and payments, adding their CoP is simpler than integrating a separate provider.

SurePay FAQs

1. Is SurePay better than ClearBank for payee verification?
   For pure verification, yes. SurePay is purpose-built for name matching at scale. ClearBank is a clearing bank that happens to offer CoP. If verification is your primary need, SurePay is the stronger choice.
2. How much does SurePay cost?
   SurePay doesn’t publish pricing. You’ll get a custom quote based on volume. The model typically includes a connection fee plus per-check charges.
3. Does SurePay work outside Europe?
   Limited. SurePay has a Swift partnership for non-European IBANs, but coverage and match quality vary. Their core strength is Netherlands, UK, and expanding EU markets.
4. Can non-banks use SurePay?
   Yes, though their primary clients are banks and PSPs. Corporates can access the service through SurePay’s partners or directly for high-volume use cases.
5. How does SurePay compare to MonitorPay.ai?
   SurePay focuses on name-to-IBAN matching within Europe. MonitorPay covers the full verification stack (ownership, status, monitoring) across 150+ countries. SurePay is deeper in NL/UK. MonitorPay is wider globally and offers more verification types.

3. Modulr

Best for: UK fintechs that want CoP without a full clearing bank

Modulr is an embedded payments platform regulated as an Authorised Electronic Money Institution (AEMI) by the FCA. In 2020, they became the first non-bank to launch Confirmation of Payee in the UK through Pay.UK’s scheme.

That distinction matters. Modulr proved you don’t need to be a clearing bank to offer CoP. They provide it as part of their payments platform — alongside Faster Payments, Bacs, CHAPS, and Open Banking.

In 2024, Modulr landed a significant contract with HMRC for CoP services, replacing NatWest as the government department’s provider. That’s a strong credibility signal: the UK tax authority chose a fintech over a major bank for payment verification.

Modulr processes over 200 million transactions annually and moves £150 billion+ in payment value through their platform.

What Modulr offers

• Confirmation of Payee (direct Pay.UK participant)
• Standalone CoP API for lenders (verify before disbursing loans)
• Faster Payments, Bacs, CHAPS connectivity
• Open Banking (Payment Initiation)
• Request to Pay
• Multi-currency accounts (GBP, EUR, USD + more)
• Virtual and physical card issuance (Visa, Mastercard)
• SEPA and SWIFT connectivity

ClearBank vs Modulr

	ClearBank	Modulr
Confirmation of Payee	Yes	Yes
Direct Pay.UK participant	Yes	Yes
Standalone CoP API	No	Yes (for lenders)
Banking license	Yes (clearing bank)	No (AEMI — electronic money)
FSCS protection	Yes	No
Faster Payments	Yes	Yes (direct participant)
SEPA	Yes	Yes
Card issuance	No	Yes (Visa, Mastercard)
Public sector experience	Limited	Yes (HMRC contract)
Transparent pricing	No	No
Coverage	UK, expanding EU	UK, EU
Best for	Full banking infrastructure	Embedded payments with CoP

When to choose Modulr over ClearBank

You want UK payment capabilities with CoP but don’t need a full clearing bank relationship. Modulr sits in the middle: lighter than ClearBank, heavier than a pure verification provider.

Modulr’s standalone CoP API for lenders is noteworthy. If you’re a lending company that needs to verify borrower account details before disbursing funds, you can access CoP without buying into the full payments platform. ClearBank doesn’t offer this.

For fintechs that need payments + CoP + cards in one integration, Modulr covers more surface area than ClearBank on the cards side while still providing direct CoP participation.

When to stick with ClearBank

You need FSCS-protected deposits or settlement accounts at the Bank of England. Modulr is an electronic money institution, not a bank. If deposit protection or clearing bank status matters for your regulatory position, ClearBank is the right fit.

Modulr FAQs

1. Is Modulr a bank?
   No. Modulr is an Authorised Electronic Money Institution, not a bank. It doesn’t hold a banking license and doesn’t offer FSCS-protected deposits. But it is a direct participant in Faster Payments and Bacs.
2. How does Modulr’s CoP compare to ClearBank’s?
   Functionally similar — both are direct Pay.UK participants offering inbound and outbound CoP. The difference is what comes with it. ClearBank requires a clearing bank relationship. Modulr wraps CoP inside an embedded payments platform.
3. Does Modulr offer global payee verification?
   No. Modulr’s CoP is UK-only (GBP sort code and account number). For global coverage, you’d need a separate provider like MonitorPay.ai or Trustpair.
4. Can corporates use Modulr for CoP?
   Modulr primarily serves fintechs, payment companies, and platforms. Corporates can use their standalone CoP API for specific use cases like loan disbursement verification.
5. What happened with Modulr’s FCA restrictions?
   The FCA imposed partner onboarding restrictions on Modulr in October 2023. These were lifted in July 2024. Modulr is now fully operational and actively onboarding new clients.

4. Bottomline

Best for: Enterprise financial institutions needing CoP and VoP at scale

Bottomline has been in payment automation for over 30 years. They’re one of the largest CoP solution providers in the UK, having supported over 30% of all CoP members going live under the PSR mandate.

What sets Bottomline apart is scope. They offer both UK Confirmation of Payee and EU Verification of Payee from a single platform. They also connect to Swift’s Beneficiary Account Verification (BAV) for international checks. No other provider on this list covers all three schemes.

Bottomline’s CoP solution is SaaS-based and API-driven. It works as an overlay on any payment scheme — Faster Payments, CHAPS, Bacs, SEPA. For financial institutions managing multiple payment types across UK and EU, Bottomline is the enterprise incumbent.

What Bottomline offers

• Confirmation of Payee (UK) — direct and indirect participation options
• Verification of Payee (EU) — SEPA Instant mandate compliance
• Swift Beneficiary Account Verification (BAV)
• SaaS-based, API-driven platform
• UI for single and bulk checks
• Payee and payer name verification
• Matching algorithm with fuzzy logic
• Onboarding support with sandbox and dedicated project managers

ClearBank vs Bottomline

	ClearBank	Bottomline
UK Confirmation of Payee	Yes	Yes
EU Verification of Payee	Building	Yes (live)
Swift BAV	No	Yes
Direct CoP participation	Yes	Yes
Indirect CoP option	No	Yes
Standalone verification	No	Yes
Bulk checking UI	No	Yes
Banking infrastructure	Yes	No
30+ years in payments	No	Yes
CoP members supported	Own clients only	30%+ of all UK CoP members
Transparent pricing	No	No
Best for	Regulated fintechs	Enterprise banks and PSPs

When to choose Bottomline over ClearBank

You’re a bank or large PSP that needs to comply with both UK CoP and EU VoP mandates. Bottomline is the only provider on this list that covers UK, EU, and international verification (via Swift BAV) from one platform.

If you’re looking at the October 2025 EU VoP mandate and the expanding UK CoP requirements, Bottomline’s track record matters. They’ve onboarded hundreds of institutions through regulatory deadlines. That implementation experience is hard to replicate.

Bottomline also offers indirect CoP participation — meaning you can access the service without becoming a direct Pay.UK participant yourself. ClearBank requires you to either use their sort codes or become a direct participant through CoPaaS.

When to stick with ClearBank

You need the banking infrastructure alongside CoP. Bottomline is verification and compliance only — no accounts, no clearing, no settlement. If you’re building a fintech that needs both, ClearBank bundles them together.

Bottomline FAQs

1. How big is Bottomline?
   Bottomline serves over 500,000 financial institutions and corporations worldwide. In the UK CoP space specifically, they’ve supported more than 30% of all mandated institutions going live.
2. Does Bottomline cover EU Verification of Payee?
   Yes. Bottomline’s VoP solution is live and aligned with the European Payments Council’s SEPA Instant mandate (October 2025 deadline for Eurozone, July 2027 for non-Eurozone).
3. Can corporates use Bottomline’s CoP?
   Yes. Bottomline offers a CoP for Business product specifically designed for corporates. It integrates with their PTX platform and provides single and bulk verification capabilities.
4. How does Bottomline compare to MonitorPay.ai?
   Different focus. Bottomline specializes in UK/EU regulatory compliance for banks and PSPs. MonitorPay covers global payee verification for any company. Bottomline is deeper in scheme compliance. MonitorPay is wider in geographic coverage and verification types.
5. What’s Bottomline’s pricing model?
   Bottomline doesn’t publish pricing. Enterprise contracts are custom. Expect a SaaS subscription plus per-check fees. Contact their sales team for a specific quote.

5. Trustpair

Best for: Enterprise finance teams securing vendor payments against fraud

Trustpair takes a completely different angle from every other provider on this list. While ClearBank, SurePay, Modulr, and Bottomline focus on payment rails and scheme compliance, Trustpair focuses on the vendor payment lifecycle.

Founded in 2017, Trustpair validates vendor bank accounts before payments are released. The platform sits inside your existing finance stack — SAP, Oracle, Kyriba, Coupa — and automatically checks every vendor’s banking details against trusted data sources in 190+ countries.

The use case is specific: preventing vendor payment fraud. That includes fake invoices, compromised vendor accounts, account detail changes, and social engineering attacks targeting AP and treasury teams.

Trustpair serves 500+ enterprise clients and recently expanded US coverage ahead of Nacha’s 2026 fraud-monitoring rules. They also offer fraud liability protection up to $1 million.

What Trustpair offers

• Automated vendor bank account validation (190+ countries)
• Vendor onboarding verification
• Continuous database monitoring (alerts on changes)
• Payment file verification before execution
• Native integrations: SAP (certified), Oracle, Kyriba, ION, FIS, Coupa, Ivalua, JAGGAER, Zycus
• API and SFTP connections
• Fraud detection dashboards
• 4-eyes approval workflows
• Fraud liability protection (up to $1M)

ClearBank vs Trustpair

	ClearBank	Trustpair
Payee verification	UK CoP	Global vendor account validation
Coverage	UK (expanding EU)	190+ countries
Continuous monitoring	No	Yes
ERP integration	No	Yes (SAP, Oracle, Kyriba, etc.)
Vendor onboarding	No	Yes
Payment file checks	No	Yes (pre-execution)
Fraud liability protection	No	Yes (up to $1M)
Approval workflows	No	Yes (4-eyes)
Banking infrastructure	Yes	No
Target user	Fintechs, banks	Finance, treasury, procurement
Transparent pricing	No	No (custom enterprise)
Best for	Regulated payment flows	Securing vendor payments

When to choose Trustpair over ClearBank

You’re a corporate finance team, not a fintech. Your problem isn’t building a payment product — it’s making sure your vendor payments aren’t going to the wrong account.

Trustpair fits into the workflows finance teams already use. If your company runs SAP or Oracle and processes thousands of vendor payments monthly, Trustpair plugs directly into that flow. ClearBank doesn’t integrate with ERPs because that’s not their market.

The continuous monitoring is critical for large vendor databases. Trustpair watches every vendor’s banking details and flags changes in real time. That’s the difference between catching a compromised account before you pay and finding out 60 days later during reconciliation.

For US-based operations, Trustpair’s expanded Nacha compliance coverage and $1M fraud liability protection are relevant differentiators that no other provider on this list matches.

When to stick with ClearBank

You need payment infrastructure, not AP fraud prevention. Trustpair doesn’t process payments, issue accounts, or provide clearing services. If you’re building a fintech product, ClearBank is the right tool. If you’re securing existing vendor payments, Trustpair is.

Trustpair FAQs

1. Is Trustpair a payment company?
   No. Trustpair doesn’t move money. It validates vendor bank accounts before you move money through your existing payment systems. Think of it as a security layer on top of your payment flows.
2. How many countries does Trustpair cover?
   190+ countries with automated bank account validation. They recently expanded coverage in 13 additional markets including Canada, Mexico, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and several South American countries.
3. How does Trustpair compare to MonitorPay.ai?
   Trustpair is built for enterprise AP/treasury teams with deep ERP integrations and vendor lifecycle management. MonitorPay is an API-first verification platform for any team processing payments. Trustpair is heavier (enterprise deployment). MonitorPay is lighter (connect and go).
4. Does Trustpair offer Confirmation of Payee?
   Not directly. Trustpair’s approach is different — they validate vendor bank accounts against their own data sources rather than through the Pay.UK CoP scheme. The result is similar (verified payee) but the mechanism and coverage are broader.
5. How much does Trustpair cost? Trustpair offers two tiers: Platform Access (core features, fixed volume) and Custom Access (tailored enterprise package). Pricing is custom. You’ll need to request a demo for a specific quote.

Full Comparison: ClearBank vs All 5 Alternatives

Feature	ClearBank	MonitorPay.ai	SurePay	Modulr	Bottomline	Trustpair
Core function	Clearing bank + CoP	Full verification stack	Name-to-IBAN matching	Payments + CoP	CoP/VoP for banks	Vendor payment security
UK CoP	✅	Name verification (global)	✅	✅	✅	Account validation
EU VoP	Building	Global coverage	✅	❌	✅	Global coverage
Global coverage	UK only	150+ countries	NL, UK, EU	UK, EU	UK, EU, Swift	190+ countries
IBAN validation	❌	✅	✅	❌	❌	✅
Account ownership	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌	✅
Account status	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌
Continuous monitoring	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌	✅
Bulk checks	❌	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅
ERP integration	❌	❌	❌	❌	Limited	✅ (SAP, Oracle)
Standalone API	❌	✅	✅	Partial	✅	✅
Transparent pricing	❌	✅ (€0.10/check)	❌	❌	❌	❌
Free tier	❌	✅ (100 checks)	❌	❌	❌	❌
Requires regulation	Yes (FCA)	No	No	No	No	No
Integration time	Weeks–months	Under 1 day	~4 weeks	Weeks	Weeks	24 hours (platform)
Best for	Regulated fintechs	Global verification	EU/UK banks	UK payment fintechs	Enterprise banks	Corporate AP/treasury

Which ClearBank Alternative Should You Pick?

The right choice depends on what you actually need.

• Choose MonitorPay.ai if you want global payee verification as a standalone product. No banking relationship required. One API. 150+ countries. Transparent pricing. Best fit for: payment platforms, marketplaces, fintechs, and any team that needs to verify payees outside the UK.
• Choose SurePay if you’re a bank or PSP that needs dedicated CoP/VoP compliance in the Netherlands and UK. SurePay is the specialist with the deepest matching algorithms and the strongest European bank network.
• Choose Modulr if you’re building a UK fintech that needs embedded payments with CoP but doesn’t require a full clearing bank. Modulr is lighter than ClearBank and offers cards and Open Banking alongside.
• Choose Bottomline if you’re an enterprise bank or PSP that needs CoP, VoP, and Swift BAV from one vendor. Bottomline is the enterprise incumbent with 30+ years in payment security and the widest UK/EU scheme compliance coverage.
• Choose Trustpair if you’re a corporate finance team protecting vendor payments. Trustpair plugs into SAP, Oracle, and your existing procurement stack to validate every payment before it leaves. Best for AP, treasury, and procurement teams at large corporates.

Stick with ClearBank if you actually need the full banking infrastructure — accounts, clearing, settlement, FSCS protection — and want CoP included as part of that package.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Confirmation of Payee?
   Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is a UK service that checks whether the name you enter for a payment matches the name registered to the receiving bank account. It’s run by Pay.UK and designed to prevent APP fraud and misdirected payments. All major UK payment service providers were mandated to implement CoP by October 2024.
2. What’s the difference between CoP and VoP?
   Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is the UK scheme. Verification of Payee (VoP) is the EU equivalent, operated by the European Payments Council as part of the SEPA Instant mandate. Both do the same thing — verify payee names before payment — but they operate on different payment rails and under different regulatory frameworks.
3. Do I need a banking license to use payee verification?
   No. ClearBank requires FCA regulation because it’s a banking product with CoP bundled in. But standalone providers like MonitorPay.ai, SurePay, Bottomline, and Trustpair don’t require you to be regulated. You just connect their API.
4. Which provider has the best global coverage?
   Trustpair covers 190+ countries for vendor account validation. MonitorPay.ai covers 150+ countries with a full verification stack. SurePay and Bottomline focus on UK/EU. ClearBank and Modulr are UK-only for verification.
5. How much does payee verification cost?
   Varies widely. MonitorPay.ai is the only provider with fully transparent pricing (€0.10/check). All others require custom quotes. Expect per-check fees ranging from €0.05 to €0.50+ depending on provider, volume, and contract terms.
6. Can I use multiple providers together?
   Yes. Many companies use a UK-specific CoP provider (like Modulr or Bottomline) for domestic compliance alongside a global provider (like MonitorPay.ai or Trustpair) for international verification. The APIs are independent.
7. What is APP fraud?
   Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud happens when someone tricks you into sending money to an account controlled by a fraudster. In the UK, APP fraud exceeds £450 million annually. CoP and VoP are regulatory responses designed to reduce this by verifying recipients before payment.
8. How fast can I integrate payee verification?
   MonitorPay.ai claims under one day. Trustpair offers platform access within 24 hours. SurePay typically takes 4 weeks for bank integrations. ClearBank and Modulr can take weeks to months depending on onboarding complexity.
9. What happens when a name doesn’t match?
   Most providers return a result: match, close match, no match, or unable to verify. MonitorPay.ai adds a confidence score. SurePay provides a fraud risk indicator. The final decision to proceed or block the payment stays with you.
10. Is payee verification mandatory?
    In the UK, CoP is mandatory for PSPs under PSR Specific Direction 17. In the EU, VoP became mandatory for Eurozone PSPs in October 2025, with non-Eurozone countries following by July 2027. For corporates, it’s not legally mandated but increasingly expected by auditors and compliance teams.