Corporate Verification of Payee - White paper - april 2025

Businesses, ranging from the smallest of startups to global stock-listed corporations, have been suffering the consequences of being
targeted by fraudsters. One of the key risks accounts payable departments face is invoice fraud: a type of scam that aims to convince a business to pay into a bank account controlled by the fraudster by issuing fake invoices or by manipulating the business into modifying their supplier reference data through social engineering.

The scope of invoice fraud is not to be underestimated. A 2022 study conducted by Forbes, surveying over 2,750 businesses, showed that 95.5% of businesses have been targeted by invoice fraud, with the average fraud cost to mid-size businesses being an eyewatering USD 280,000.

Unfortunately, these numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. A 2024 study conducted by Ardent Partners showed that 37% of the companies they surveyed saw an increase in the number of invoice fraud cases when compared to the year prior. With the increased adoption of real-time payments by corporates, and the impending increase in transaction value limits for SEPA Instant Credit Transfers, the conditions create a perfect storm for fraudsters to thrive.

In light of this financial crime epidemic, it is no surprise that in several countries solutions that allow corporates to verify the alignment between the identity of the account holder and the intended beneficiary have started to develop, including the SEPA Mail Diamond solution in France.

It is also unsurprising that the European Association of Corporate Treasurers have been strong advocates of the inclusion of corporate
payment channels in the Instant Payments Regulation, with regards to the requirement to deploy Verification of Payee services.