Errors to avoid when making French bank transfer after October 9
New regulation aims to help people avoid losing money to scams or incorrect details
The new system will return a match, partial match, or no match for a bank transfer recipient’s IBAN and name details
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Bank transfers in France are set to become more secure this week, with all banks required to implement a ‘payee verification system’ from October 9.
A new European regulation will require banks and electronic money platforms to have a VoP (Verification of Payee) system in place for any transfers, explains the official Service Public government website.
A VoP system checks that the transfer beneficiary’s name matches the IBAN number of the account that is receiving the transfer. This happens in real-time, and lets the customer know instantly whether the details match or not.
The process is free, and is done automatically. Many banks already operate the system voluntarily.
Fraud protection
The system makes it easier for the person making the transfer to check for any errors (e.g. an incorrectly-input digit, or spelling mistake in a name). It also makes it easier to detect attempted fraud, as some scammers will direct a payment to their own name as a way to steal funds.
The system will provide “enhanced protection against fraud”, and “reduce input errors when adding a new beneficiary” explains the Fédération bancaire française (FBF) on its website. The Banque de France estimates that banking fraud due to transfers amounted to €183 million in 2024.
Not checking someone’s name against the account IBAN number is a security flaw that allows “fraudsters to intercept a completely legitimate invoice and replace the IBAN of the person to be paid with their own”, said Julien Lasalle, of the national payment methods committee, le Comité national des moyens de paiement at the Banque de France, to the AFP.
Real-time results
The person making the transfer will be informed of the results of the check before they can continue the transfer. The possible results are:
Exact match between name and IBAN. You can proceed, if you are happy to do so.
No match between name and IBAN. You are advised to check again and revise the details, and/or not to proceed. You can still proceed if you wish, but with full knowledge that there has not been a match.
Partial match (name similar but not identical to that of the recipient account. The bank will provide you with the full name associated with the IBAN, so you can decide whether to proceed or not. This is likely to happen when using someone’s nickname rather than their full name, e.g. Sam instead of Samantha.
Verification impossible. Technical problems, beneficiary's bank is not a member, or not responding, etc. The bank will inform you that the check could not be performed. You can then either abandon or decide to continue with your transfer.
Mistakes to avoid when transferring money
The French government website Service Public advises that people making transfers should:
Avoid using nicknames or partial names when transferring money, and instead use people’s full and/or legal names
Be accurate when typing in names or account details; one single error or wrong number can cause a ‘no match’ result and even lead to your payment going to the wrong account
Never transfer money to someone unexpectedly. Never believe anyone who asks you to transfer money from your account to another out of the blue, or for ‘security reasons’, even if they say they are from your bank.
Never transfer money without checking, especially if their bank returns a ‘no match’ or ‘partial match’ result. There may be a genuine reason for the ‘no match’ (e.g. they use a different name to their legal name), but it is always better to be 100% sure before proceeding.
Not expect to get money back if your bank advises you not to proceed, but you do anyway. It is much more difficult to be reimbursed for a payment that later turns out to be fraudulent if the bank can prove that you were warned of the risks, but approved or proceeded with the transfer anyway.
Avoid selecting the wrong reason for a transfer. Many banks will ask you to select a reason for the transfer when processing it, e.g. ‘Paying family or friends’, ‘Paying for goods or services’ or ‘Paying a bill’ etc. Selecting the correct reason may help you recover your money in the event of a scam or problem.
Increased bank scams
The new system comes as instant transfers and banking scams have become increasingly common.
One example is the ‘bank mule’ scam which sees fraudsters ‘mistakenly’ send a sum of money to a person’s bank account. The scammers will then contact the account holder and ask for the money to be transferred back or onto a new account. Sending the money back however could see the account owner deemed complicit in money laundering.
Instant online transfers were made free in France at the start of 2025, after previously costing around €1 each. Yet, the main risk with instant transfers is that the transaction cannot be cancelled as the action is immediate.
As a result, this type of transfer should only be used for sending funds to “friends and family or for accounts to which you are used to transferring money”, and for small sums, to minimise the risk of losing larger sums to scammers, states the anti-fraud and anti-scam platform Signal-Arnaques.
