Poles See VoP as Additional Protection Against Transfer Errors and Fraud. Findings from a KIR and ZBP Survey

45% of online banking users believe that the Verification of Payee (VoP) service can help protect against errors when initiating a bank transfer. One in three respondents (34%) also believes that the solution can help reduce financial fraud involving the deliberate provision of incorrect details.

28% of respondents see the VoP mechanism as particularly useful when making higher-value transfers, while 20% consider it especially useful for transfers to new recipients. More than one in five respondents have not yet formed an opinion about the solution. Only 5% of online banking users believe that the new service is unnecessary. According to data collected in this year’s survey conducted by KIR and the Polish Bank Association (Związek Banków Polskich, ZBP)*, the perceived usefulness of the Verification of Payee service remains comparable to the previous year.

The implementation of VoP is part of the broader digital transformation of financial services, aimed at increasing security and customer trust in the payment system in Poland and across the European Union. Polish banks will be required to implement the service no later than July 2027.

Check before you send a transfer

The purpose of the Verification of Payee service is to compare the recipient’s name and account number entered by the sender with the account holder’s details held by the recipient’s bank. The verification takes place before the transaction is authorised, allowing the user to receive information about the level of data match before sending the money.

If the VoP mechanism identifies a mismatch or partial match, the user can check the information entered again. A warning does not automatically block the transaction – the decision to approve it remains with the person initiating the transfer.

“The results of this year’s survey show that online banking users value solutions that increase the security of bank transfers. VoP provides an additional opportunity to check the recipient’s details before the transaction is authorised, while not complicating the payment process,” says Grzegorz Leńkowski, Director of the Instant Payments Business Line at KIR.

Protection against errors valued regardless of age

An analysis of responses across different age groups shows that protection against errors when entering transfer details is the most frequently cited benefit of VoP, both among younger and older users. More noticeable differences emerge when assessing situations in which the service is considered particularly useful.

The percentage of respondents who see VoP as important when making higher-value transfers increases with age – from 19% among people under 30 to 31% among respondents aged 60 and over. A similar relationship can be observed for transfers to new recipients. This response was selected by 12% of the youngest respondents and 28% of those in the oldest age group.

The results show that, regardless of the respondents’ age, the most anticipated function of the service remains the ability to confirm that funds will reach the account of the correct person or company.

How can you distinguish an error from potential fraud?

22% of online banking users have not yet formed an opinion about the usefulness of the VoP mechanism. This suggests how important it will be to clearly communicate how the new service works and what the information presented to customers before transfer authorisation means.

One of the major challenges will be the appropriate interpretation of cases involving so-called partial data matches. Warnings about discrepancies may result, among other things, from typos, the omission of Polish diacritical marks, the use of abbreviations or different ways of spelling first names, surnames and company names. Therefore, not every difference identified by VoP will indicate an attempted fraud, and displaying warnings too frequently may reduce users’ vigilance and limit the effectiveness of such messages.

“The effectiveness of the Verification of Payee service will depend not only on the technology used, but also on how the entire process is designed. Clear and intuitive communication of the verification result will allow users to quickly assess the situation, understand the level of risk and make an informed decision about whether the recipient’s details should be corrected before the transfer is authorised” adds Grzegorz Leńkowski.

Creating a common standard – in Polish and for the Polish currency

Under the EU regulation on instant euro payments, payment service providers in countries outside the euro area, including Poland, will be required to implement the VoP service by 9 July 2027 at the latest. Euro area countries have already been subject to this requirement since 9 October 2025.

KIR already has experience in implementing VoP for euro transfers. In October 2025, mBank Slovakia launched the solution provided by KIR. Work is currently underway to use this functionality for transfers made in Polish zloty as well. KIR is participating in work across the banking sector aimed at establishing a uniform operating model for the service on the Polish market. A common standard will help provide bank customers with a consistent experience and standardise the way payment recipients are verified.

Survey conducted by Minds&Roses, April 2026, N=1,000.