National Westminster Bank
How NatWest Pioneered UK Payment Security with SurePay's Confirmation of Payee
As a cornerstone of the UK economy, NatWest Group serves 19 million customers and processes one in every four digital payments. To uphold its commitment to customer safety in a digital-first world, NatWest sought to take a definitive stand against the rising tide of payment fraud and protect its customers with a proven, next-generation solution.
Protecting Millions from Payment Fraud at Scale
The primary challenge for NatWest was the significant financial and emotional risk posed by Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud, a sophisticated crime that manipulates people into sending money to fraudulent accounts. In 2024, APP fraud losses in the UK still amounted to over £450 million.
NatWest needed a highly reliable, scalable, and intelligent system to:
- Combat APP fraud and accidental misdirected payments across millions of daily transactions.
- Instill greater confidence in customers when making digital payments.
- Reduce the operational burden of manual checks and payment error investigations.
- Implement a solution that was robust enough for one of the UK’s largest payment infrastructures.
Integration of API for Banks
Safer and more efficient processes
Correct customer data
Less time spent on manual system adjustments
A Partnership Built on Proven Expertise and Trust
To lead the market and provide the best possible protection, NatWest chose SurePay, making it the first UK bank to launch Confirmation of Payee (CoP) in 2020.
Our selection was based on a foundation of demonstrable experience and expertise, having already successfully deployed our IBAN-Name Check solution across the entire Dutch banking system. SurePay’s advanced, fine-tuned algorithm was uniquely capable of handling the complex name-matching scenarios required for the diverse UK market.
This pioneering partnership established SurePay’s authoritativeness as the market leader. Today, we are the largest CoP provider in the UK, serving over 100 banks and building societies and handling over 750,000 payment checks daily. The continued success led NatWest to renew its agreement with SurePay in early 2025, a testament to the trust and value delivered through our long-term collaboration.
Key Results and Outcomes
By integrating SurePay’s API, NatWest achieved significant, measurable results, establishing a new standard for payment security in the UK.
- Pioneered UK Market Adoption: Successfully launched as the first bank in the UK with a CoP solution, setting a benchmark for the industry.
- Dramatically Reduced Fraud: Provided a powerful, real-time defence against APP fraud and payment errors for millions of retail and commercial customers.
- Enhanced Customer Confidence: Gave customers peace of mind with an intuitive, real-time check that verifies payee details before a payment is sent.
- Achieved Operational Efficiency: Automated payment verification processes, reducing the need for costly manual interventions and follow-ups.
“We are pleased to renew the relationship with SurePay to provide a Confirmation of Payee service that will continue to support our customers' payment experience and outcomes.”
Adrian Smyth, Payments NatWest Group
