Bank transfers will change: get to know the new measures.

Beneficiary confirmation and transfer by phone number are the measures at stake.

In order to reduce fraud, the Bank of Portugal (BdP) announced new measures for national bank transfers.

In a post, the Notícias ao Minuto explains that the main news is the confirmation of the beneficiary and the possibility of making transfers using only the phone number.

Beneficiary confirmation

As it already happens in transfers between national accounts at Multibanco ATMs, where the name of the person or entity receiving the money appears, this detail also appears on other channels provided by banks. 

In other words, so that the sender can confirm beforehand before sending the money if it is for the right beneficiary, this functionality also appears in the "homebanking" or in the banks' application.

In the same way, in the direct debits, the same will happen to confirm that the debtor is the account holder to be debited.

According to the 2023 Payment Systems Report, the BdP considers "that this service will reduce the risks of fraud, by minimizing the possibility of sending money to the wrong recipients," as stated in the news article.

Transfers with phone number

From June 24, it will be possible to transfer between national bank accounts (transfers or immediate) using only the beneficiary's phone number.

This means that the same will happen as in the MBWay network, now in general transfers at the counter, in "homebanking" and in the application.

In the case of the beneficiary being a company, the person making the transfer may only indicate the NIPC (tax identification number of the company).  

Note that in order to access this option, you will need to associate your phone number (which can be a foreign number) to your account.  

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