Attention: Bank payments will have a change in May.

The Bank of Portugal's norm will allow knowing the recipient before a bank payment.

Starting from May 19th, bank payments to entities in the Portuguese banking system will now display the recipient's name.

The new rule is from the Bank of Portugal (BdP) and aims to combat bank fraud.  

"The warning had already been issued in November and, after a period of public consultation and adoption of the changes by the entities involved, it should come into force in May this year," can be read in the Notícias ao Minuto.

So, in order to prevent fraud in the sector, this measure comes into effect after the solution to identify the account holder through the IBAN has been implemented in May 2024 during transfers.

This new functionality will show who is the recipient of a payment, which is currently hidden through contracted services.

From May, it will be possible to confirm the beneficiary, identified by the name of the first account holder associated with the indicated IBAN.

Data from BdP between May 20, 2024 and March 5, 2025 indicate that 112 million beneficiary confirmation queries for transfers were made.  

In addition, between May and August 2024, decreases of 78% in the number of fraud cases and 61% in the value of transfers in cases of fraud were registered.

Find out why: Bank transfers will change: Get to know the new measures

"According to the BdP, the amount of fraud by recipient manipulation decreased from an average monthly amount of 766 thousand euros between January and May to 441 thousand euros between June and August," the news reports.

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