It is a small window that many people saw for the first time last year: you fill in a transfer in your online banking, press Continue - and instead of the TAN prompt a message appears saying that the name you entered does not match the IBAN. The first thought is usually: did I do something wrong? Has my bank been hacked? As a rule, neither is the case. Behind it sits payee verification, mandatory for every credit transfer since 9 October 2025 (BaFin). The legal basis is Regulation (EU) 2024/886 on instant credit transfers in euro, which has reshaped European payments in several places at once. This affects almost everyone: 86 per cent (Bitkom) of people in Germany handle their banking online, and among 65- to 74-year-olds the figure is 83 per cent (Bitkom). This article explains calmly what the four possible responses mean, why companies and clubs so often trigger a "close match", when it is better to stop - and how to set up your banking at home so that you feel comfortable with it. If you would rather go through it together: we come to your kitchen table as part of our tech help for seniors.
Key takeaways
- Since 9 October 2025 (BaFin) every bank checks before release whether the name matches the IBAN - free of charge, with four possible answers: match, close match with a suggested name, no match, and verification not possible (European Payments Council).
- A "close match" is normal with companies, clubs and joint accounts, because the account carries the full legal name: read the suggested name, compare it with your invoice and store that spelling in your own template.
- On "no match", release nothing; check the IBAN and ask the payee on a phone number you already know. Anyone who overrides the warning carries the risk; if the check was never run, the bank has to refund the amount (BaFin).
- Instant transfers may cost no more than classic ones (Regulation (EU) 2024/886), yet they are irreversible after seconds. Running standing orders stay unchecked, while new, amended and scheduled orders go through the match (BaFin).
- Wero sends money to people you know via their mobile number straight from the current account, using the instant transfer underneath; around 7 million people in Germany have it (Deutsche Bundesbank), online since autumn 2025 and in shops from 2026 (Verbraucherzentrale).
- Keep banking and TAN release on two separate devices and credentials in a password manager. When changing phones, test the release app on the new device before resetting the old one. For emergencies your bank needs a written account power of attorney.
What has really changed about transfers
For decades a simple rule applied: only the IBAN counted for a credit transfer, the payee's name was decoration. Anyone who mistyped a digit or fell for a forged invoice paid into a stranger's account - and formally the bank had done everything right. Regulation (EU) 2024/886 closes exactly this gap. It obliges payment service providers to check, before you approve, whether the payee name you typed belongs to the account whose IBAN you entered. The technical term is Verification of Payee; in German it is called Empfängerüberprüfung.
The regulation comes with a timetable that explains a lot. Since 9 January 2025 (Regulation (EU) 2024/886) banks in the euro area have had to be able to receive instant credit transfers, and since 9 October 2025 to send them as well. Payee verification became mandatory on that same October date (BaFin). Member states outside the euro area have later deadlines, namely 9 January 2027 for receiving and 9 July 2027 for sending (Regulation (EU) 2024/886); e-money institutions and payment institutions follow from 9 April 2027. So if you had the impression over recent months that transfers had changed without notice, you were not wrong - the notice was simply an EU regulation rather than a letter from your bank.
The name is checked
Your bank asks the payee's bank whether name and IBAN belong together. You see the result before you enter the TAN (European Payments Council).
Instant at the normal price
Instant credit transfers may not be more expensive than other credit transfers of the corresponding kind (Regulation (EU) 2024/886).
Around the clock
Instant transfers run seven days a week, including public holidays, and are usually credited within ten seconds (Deutsche Bundesbank).
There is a second reason why these changes are noticeable right now: online banking has grown considerably. In its study "Zahlungsverhalten in Deutschland 2025" the Deutsche Bundesbank reports 89 per cent (Deutsche Bundesbank) online banking use among respondents with a current account and internet access, up 8 percentage points (Deutsche Bundesbank) on 2023. For the first time the bank's app is the most used route in with 62 per cent (Deutsche Bundesbank), just ahead of the website on 61 per cent (Deutsche Bundesbank). If the app still feels foreign to you, our computer courses at home offer a calm way in - without time pressure and on the device you actually use.
The four responses and what they mean
The sequence is the same each time: you enter name, IBAN and amount. Before you approve, your bank sends a query to the payee's bank, and that bank answers. The European rulebook for this procedure provides for four possible answers (European Payments Council). The response appears as a short piece of text in the transfer form, sometimes with a coloured background, sometimes in a window of its own - that differs from bank to bank. The substance is the same everywhere.
| Response | What you see | What makes sense now |
|---|---|---|
| Match | Name and IBAN belong together; often a green tick or a short confirmation | You can approve the transfer as usual (BaFin) |
| Close match | The details almost fit; your bank additionally shows the name held for the account | Compare the names. If it looks plausible, approve and adopt the spelling for next time (Bankenverband) |
| No match | A clear warning that name and IBAN do not belong together | Stop, check the details and ask the payee through a contact route you already know (Verbraucherzentrale) |
| Verification not possible | No result, for instance due to technical faults or missing data | Check the details calmly and, if in doubt, try again later (Verbraucherzentrale) |
Small spelling differences are not a problem
One point of context takes the tension out of it for many people: the check is information, not a block. In every case you decide yourself whether to send the transfer. The response simply gives you something you did not have before. And it costs nothing - the regulation explicitly states that these services are provided free of charge to all payment service users (Regulation (EU) 2024/886). The German banking association likewise makes clear that neither payer nor payee pays for it (Bankenverband).
Why companies and clubs so often produce a "close match"
The most common everyday irritation is not the clear warning but the close match. It arises because the name an account officially carries is often different from the name you know the payee by. The invoice shows the brand, the account register shows the legal form and the full company wording. That is everyday life, not evidence of fraud.
- Companies with a legal form: you know the business as "Sonnenhof Bakery", while the account reads "Sonnenhof Backwaren GmbH und Co. KG". The check reports a close match and shows you the full name.
- Clubs and associations: the suffix "e. V.", a place name or a spelled-out abbreviation is missing from your entry. Sub-units such as departmental accounts often carry longer designations too.
- Joint accounts: a joint account carries two names. If you type only one of them, the comparison treats that as a partial match.
- Accounts after a change of name: following marriage, divorce or a change of company name, the name held at the bank may still be the old one.
- Service providers as account holders: some invoices name a service provider as payee, while the account runs under another company in the group.
- Estate and guardianship accounts: these frequently carry an addition in the account name that appears on no invoice.
Dealing with it is unspectacular: read the name your bank suggests and ask yourself whether it fits the party you want to pay. If you recognise the company or the club, everything is fine. If a completely unfamiliar name appears - a private individual where a company should be, or a business from an entirely different sector - that is a reason to stop. Afterwards, adopt the suggested spelling in your template so that the message does not reappear next time.
When to stop and ask
The clear "no match" warning deserves respect, but not panic. To begin with it only means: according to the payee's bank, the name you typed does not belong to this account. That can be a typo in the IBAN, an outdated bank connection on an old invoice - or indeed an attempted fraud in which someone swapped the account details on a genuine-looking invoice. Before you approve, a short and orderly round is worth the time.
- Cancel the transfer instead of pressing "send anyway". You can start the process again; the money cannot be pulled back.
- Compare the IBAN digit by digit with the invoice. Transposed numbers are the most common harmless cause.
- Check where the invoice came from. If it arrived by email, in a message or as a PDF attachment, caution is in order.
- Ask the payee - using a phone number you know yourself or found on the official website, not the number in the message in question.
- If in doubt, call your own bank. The service number is on your bank card or on your account statement.
- Decide nothing under time pressure. Anyone pushing you to pay immediately rarely has your interests in mind.
Who is liable if something goes wrong
Payee verification does not replace vigilance, it adds to it. What fraud attempts by phone, text message and email look like today, and how to recognise the pattern, is set out in detail in our article on phishing and fake calls - including the sentences you can use to end a call politely. There is no need to repeat that here; only this much: a bank does not ask you by message to release a transfer for a "security check".
Instant transfers: seconds instead of working days
The second major change concerns speed. An instant credit transfer is usually credited within ten seconds, seven days a week, including at night and on public holidays (Deutsche Bundesbank). What used to be a paid extra is now standard: since 9 October 2025 all payment service providers in the euro area have had to offer instant transfers, at the same price as classic credit transfers (Deutsche Bundesbank).
The charges levied by a payment service provider on payers and payees for sending and receiving instant credit transfers in euro shall not be higher than the charges levied by that payment service provider for sending and receiving other credit transfers of the corresponding kind.
In practice, uptake is gradual. Among online banking users, 13 per cent (Deutsche Bundesbank) say they use instant transfers for every payment and a further 18 per cent (Deutsche Bundesbank) do so frequently; 33 per cent (Deutsche Bundesbank) reach for them only rarely and 35 per cent (Deutsche Bundesbank) have not used them at all so far. Among 18- to 24-year-olds the share of consistent users is considerably higher at 24 per cent (Deutsche Bundesbank). Across Europe, instant transfers accounted for 34 per cent (European Payments Council) of all credit transfers in the SEPA region in the fourth quarter of 2025, more than double the 2023 figure.
The upside
Rent, a deposit, a tradesperson's invoice or money for the grandchildren arrives immediately. No waiting over the weekend, no deadline trouble at the end of the month.
The catch
What is booked in seconds can no longer be halted. A classic credit transfer could sometimes still be stopped before execution - with instant transfers that window disappears.
The consequence
With instant payments in particular it pays to actually read the payee verification response before you enter the TAN.
Many banks let you choose while filling in the form whether a transfer should be executed normally or instantly. For recurring payments to familiar payees, instant is convenient. With a new bank connection, a large amount or a provider you are dealing with for the first time, there is little against choosing normal execution and giving yourself a pause for thought. A daily transfer limit that you can set yourself in online banking is a second simple safeguard - amount limits are not prescribed by law, but institutions and customers can agree on them (Deutsche Bundesbank).
Standing orders and scheduled transfers
One question comes up at almost every home visit: do I now have to set up all my standing orders again? The answer is reassuring. Standing orders that already exist continue without payee verification (BaFin). So there is nothing to touch simply because the rules have changed. As soon as you create a new standing order or amend an existing one, however, the check is carried out (Bankenverband). The same applies to scheduled transfers that you set up in advance (Verbraucherzentrale).
- Running standing orders remain valid unchanged - nothing to do.
- When you create a new standing order, the response appears exactly as it does for a single transfer.
- Even a simple change of amount can trigger a fresh check; allow a few extra minutes.
- Scheduled transfers are checked when they are set up, not on the execution day.
- While you are reviewing your standing orders anyway: adopt the payee spelling exactly as the bank suggests it.
- Make a note of which standing orders are running - a simple list in your folder saves a lot of searching later.
Bulk payments and saved templates
Wero: money for friends, increasingly in retail too
Alongside payee verification, a new name is appearing in many banking apps: Wero. Behind it stands the European Payments Initiative, an alliance of initially 14 banks and two payment service providers (Verbraucherzentrale). Wero is a digital payment wallet, available in Germany since the end of 2024, which uses the SEPA instant credit transfer in the background; amounts are booked directly to the current account (Deutsche Bundesbank). In Germany, savings banks, cooperative banks, Deutsche Bank and Postbank as well as ING Deutschland have built the procedure into their apps or support the separate app (Deutsche Bundesbank).
The practical benefit lies first of all in money among people you know: a share of a birthday present, half a restaurant bill, pocket money for a granddaughter. Instead of the IBAN, a mobile phone number is usually enough. Since autumn 2025 it can also be used to pay in online retail, and from 2026 bricks-and-mortar retail is planned (Verbraucherzentrale). Adoption is growing: according to the operator, the number of users in Europe stands at more than 50 million, around 7 million of them in Germany (Deutsche Bundesbank). In everyday life the procedure is still young, though - for internet purchases only 1 per cent (Deutsche Bundesbank) of respondents named it as their preferred payment method.
How it works
You activate Wero in your bank's app and link your mobile number to the current account. After that you pick payees from your address book.
What you notice
The money reaches the payee within seconds, because an instant credit transfer runs in the background (Deutsche Bundesbank).
What to watch
The same applies here: an executed payment is gone. Check the mobile number and the displayed name before you confirm.
Whether you need Wero depends on your everyday life. If you rarely send money to private individuals, an ordinary credit transfer serves you well. If you settle things among friends or family more often, you save yourself typing out IBANs. What matters most is knowing what you are activating and where the amounts end up - exactly the kind of question we clear up during a visit at home, together with the basic settings of your banking app.
Your security setup at home: TAN methods, apps and passwords
Payee verification is one protective layer among several. The second is the TAN method you use to release every payment. Since 2019 the European payment services directive has required two independent factors: something you know, such as a password, and something you own, such as a smartphone or a TAN generator (Verbraucherzentrale). Which methods your bank offers is set out in your account documents - and as a rule you may choose.
| TAN method | How it works | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| chipTAN | A small reader generates the TAN from your bank card and a flickering field or QR code on the screen | Two separate devices plus the card; regarded as particularly robust (Verbraucherzentrale) |
| photoTAN | An app reads a coloured graphic from the screen and displays the TAN | The security gain comes above all when the app runs on a different device than the banking session (Verbraucherzentrale) |
| pushTAN / AppTAN | A dedicated release app from the bank shows the order and you confirm it there | Well suited when banking and release sit on two different devices (Verbraucherzentrale) |
| SMS-TAN / mTAN | The TAN arrives as a text message on your phone | Many institutions are phasing it out; the BSI points out that text messages can be intercepted (Verbraucherzentrale) |
The most important recommendation is independent of the method and easy to put into practice: spread banking and release across two devices. So transfer on the tablet or computer and release on the phone - or the other way round. If both run on the same smartphone, a malicious program has both halves of the lock. Consumer advocates therefore advise against handling everything through a single device (Verbraucherzentrale).
The two-device trick for the home
That leaves the third layer: the credentials themselves. Account number, login name, password and the answers to security questions do not belong on a note under the keyboard, nor in an unprotected notes app. A password manager is the calmest route here, because you only have to remember one good passphrase. How to set one up and what happens to the credentials in an emergency is described in our article on setting up a password manager safely. If you would like to go deeper into data minimisation and settings, the privacy course at home is the right place.
Moving the TAN app to a new phone
The most common reason why someone suddenly cannot get into their online banking is not an attack but a new phone. The release app is tied to the old device; if it is reset or sold before the move is done, the second factor is missing. After that only a letter or an appointment at the bank helps - and both take time. A little sequencing avoids the whole problem.
- Keep the old device and leave it working until the move is complete and has been tested once.
- Look for the device-change function in the release app. Many banks provide a dedicated menu item with an activation code.
- If your bank sends activation data by post, plan the timing before you hand over the old phone.
- Install the app on the new device, activate it and immediately make a small test transfer to your own second account or to someone you trust.
- Only then reset the old device and erase the data.
- Finally, check whether other release functions - for cards or securities, for example - also work on the new device.
The order of steps decides
Powers of attorney: when relatives need to help
One topic many people put off becomes important in banking rather quickly: who may act if one day you cannot? Relatives, including spouses and children, cannot automatically dispose of your account. Without a power of attorney the only route in an emergency runs through the guardianship court - with waiting time and effort, in precisely the situation where nobody has time to spare.
- Account power of attorney: applies to banking business at that specific institution. It is granted on the bank's own form and can, on request, remain valid beyond death.
- General power of attorney for future care: covers far more, such as health, housing and contracts. Many banks additionally require their own form for the account.
- Arrange both early: powers of attorney can only be granted while you have legal capacity. Later is too late.
- Do not confuse it with credentials: handing over login details is not a power of attorney; as a rule it breaches your bank's terms and can work against you if damage occurs.
From our work in the Hildesheim area we know that this conversation is easier at the kitchen table than at a bank counter. That is why we offer to hold the appointment together with a relative: we show the technology, clarify who knows which credentials, and file away what belongs in a file. We do not provide legal advice - drafting powers of attorney is a matter for your bank, a notary or a legal adviser. What we take on is the technical part, so that your tech help for seniors also holds up when things are urgent.
How we practise this calmly at your home
You can read up on all of this. The difference still only comes from trying it out: once the warning message has been on your own screen with somebody sitting next to you, it loses its sting. That is exactly what our online banking course at home is for. We work on your device and with your account, at your pace, and you keep all credentials yourself. Nothing is handled through our equipment.
A typical appointment looks like this: first we look at the login and whether the TAN method suits your everyday life. Then we prepare a transfer - deliberately a small one, to an account you know - and look at the payee verification response together. After that we deliberately try a version with a different spelling, so that you have seen a "close match" message for real. Next we go through the standing orders, set a daily limit if you want one, sort out moving the TAN app and store the credentials properly. Relatives are welcome at the table. What it costs is set out transparently in our price overview.
We drive out across the Hildesheim and Leine valley region, for example for tech help in Hildesheim or tech help in Nordstemmen - one personal contact, no call centre, and explanations without jargon. If you are working on your technology anyway, two further topics from this week are worth a look: what the right to repair for broken devices means in practice and how to set up a robot mower safely with times and zones. If you are unsure where to start, drop us a short message - we will sort it out together.
A warning is not a mistake
Sources and studies