Shufti Launches Bank Account Verification, Bringing Account Ownership and Identity Verification Onto a Single Compliance Platform

Verifying a customer’s identity does not establish ownership of the account used for payouts, withdrawals, refunds, or direct debits. Most off-the-shelf providers verify the individual at onboarding and do not offer a check on the account that receives the funds. So businesses source account verification from a second vendor and reconcile two sets of records when a payment is questioned.

Many businesses still confirm account ownership through manual bank-statement reviews, analyst callbacks, or penny-drop processes, adding operational cost and delay to account setup.

Shufti now runs both checks within the same verification decision. It matches the verified identity against the account holder name the bank holds, through one API, with no statement to review and no call to make. Each check leaves an auditable record alongside the identity result.

Regulation Is Making Bank Account Verification A Payment Control

Regulators now require payee or account verification before payment across major payment markets, with rules varying by jurisdiction.

In the UK, Specific Direction 17 extended Confirmation of Payee (CoP) to Group 2 payment service providers by 31 October 2024, now covering nearly all Faster Payments and CHAPS transactions.

In the EU, the Instant Payments Regulation has required euro-area providers to offer Verification of Payee on euro credit transfers, instant and non-instant, since 9 October 2025. Providers in non-euro member states follow by 9 July 2027.

In the US, Nacha has required originators of internet-initiated ACH debits to validate that an account is open and valid before first use and before a change of account number, since 19 March 2021. The UK and EU rules apply to payment service providers. The Nacha rule applies to the business originating the ACH debit.

For businesses moving money, validating the destination account before payment helps reduce ownership risk and misdirected funds. Shufti handles country-specific checks within the same capability, without requiring businesses to build separate checks for each market.

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One API, Six Verification Outcomes

Shufti Bank Account Verification operates through a single server-to-server API and returns one of six response types. It includes:

• Full Name Return, the account holder name held by the bank, for matching against the verified identity.
• Masked Name Return, a partially obscured name where full disclosure is restricted.
• Match Status, a pass or fail result returned without the account holder name leaving the bank.
• Account Existence Check, confirmation that an account is active and able to receive funds.
• IBAN Validation, country-specific structural validation of the IBAN.
• IBAN Checksum Verification, check-digit validation that catches transcription errors.

Businesses submit account details and receive the result in seconds, with no bank login, no redirect, and no step for the end user.

Shufti runs checks in more than 70 countries and returns a response based on the market and its permitted data-sharing model. So a business operating across several corridors receives different outcomes from each. For instance, in Finland and Indonesia, it returns the full account holder name, while in Australia the bank performs the comparison and only a match result comes back.

In around 21 markets, where live bank checks are unavailable, Shufti runs IBAN structure and checksum verification, helping catch mistyped account numbers before payment rather than returning no result.

Account Ownership At The Point Of Risk

Account verification is not limited to the initial payment setup. The capability also runs whenever a customer adds a bank account or changes one. At account linking, Shufti matches the applicant’s verified identity against the account holder name the bank holds, before the business enables payments on the account.

When someone edits payout or withdrawal details, Shufti can require the customer to re-authenticate with a biometric check, with liveness tested to iBeta Level 3 conformance under ISO/IEC 30107-3. This helps address account takeover scenarios that an onboarding check cannot detect because the account was legitimate when it was opened and compromised later.

One Platform, One Evidence Trail

Each check is saved to the same case record as the identity result. The record shows which account was verified, which method was used, and when.

“When a payout is questioned, the business has to show which account was verified, which method was used, and when. If identity and account checks sit with two different providers, someone has to piece that answer together manually, often months later. Shufti runs both checks in one decision and saves them to one record, so the answer is already there when the question is asked,” said Raja Hassan, Chief Product Officer, Shufti

Confirm Ownership Before The Next Payout Run

Knowing an account exists is not the same as knowing who controls it. The Shufti Ultimate Guide to Bank Account Verification maps that gap across every verification method in use. Explore the guide.

Shufti Bank Account Verification is available now in more than 70 countries across Europe, the US, APAC, LATAM, the Middle East, and Africa, with coverage and response types varying by corridor.