By Edvardas Špokas, LRT TV, LRT.lt.
Starting next week, banks in Lithuania and across the eurozone will be required to verify whether a payment recipient’s name matches the account number, in a move aimed at reducing fraud, the Bank of Lithuania said.
The check will take only a few seconds, and customers will immediately be notified of the result, officials said. The final decision to proceed with the transfer will remain with the sender.
Until now, money transfers have been processed solely based on the account number, regardless of the name provided. “You could enter Mickey Mouse as the name, and the money would still go through,” said Kęstutis Kupšys, vice president of the Consumers’ Alliance.
Under the new system, customers will see one of four messages: data match, close match, unable to verify, or data mismatch.
“This last one is the most important, because it indicates you may be the target of fraud,” said Evaldas Ruzgys, a board member of the Bank of Lithuania.
Read more: LRT.LT
