Finexer Research Highlights Payment Verification Challenges Facing UK Businesses

Almost three in ten UK businesses (30%) have sent or nearly sent a payment to an incorrect or unverified bank account in the past 12 months, according to new research from FinTech Wales member Finexer, an FCA-authorised Open Banking infrastructure platform.

The findings, published in Finexer’s latest report, The Open Banking Data and Payments Automation Landscape, highlight the challenges facing UK businesses when it comes to payment verification and fraud prevention, particularly as consumer-facing protections continue to expand.

The research surveyed 418 senior business leaders from UK organisations employing between 10 and 500 people, across sectors including fintech, accounting, payroll, financial management, legal services, property and B2B SaaS.

Business Payment Verification Gaps Remain Despite Consumer Protections

While consumer banking has seen significant developments in fraud prevention, Finexer’s research suggests that many mid-market B2B organisations continue to face gaps in payment verification.

Confirmation of Payee, the name-checking service designed to verify an account holder’s name before a bank transfer is completed, now covers 99% of UK Faster Payments transactions.

According to figures from Pay.UK and the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), the service has helped prevent hundreds of millions of pounds in misdirected payments since its introduction.

Additionally, the mandatory reimbursement scheme for authorised push payment (APP) fraud, introduced in October 2024, provides protection for eligible consumers and micro-enterprises who fall victim to APP fraud.

However, many mid-market B2B organisations fall outside the scope of these consumer-focused protections, leaving businesses responsible for identifying and preventing potentially misdirected payments.

Finexer’s research also found that 29% of businesses experienced delays to source-of-funds, ownership or compliance checks because the necessary bank evidence was not readily available.

The report identifies these challenges as potential regulatory risks, rather than simply operational inefficiencies.

Finexer Calls for Verification to Be Embedded Into Business Payment Processes

Commenting on the findings, Ravi Ranjan, Co-Founder and CEO of Finexer, said:

“Consumer banking has spent the last two years building real, structural protection against sending money to the wrong account. Business payments haven’t had the same attention, even though the exposure is just as real — arguably more so, given the sums involved. Bank-based verification shouldn’t be a nice-to-have bolted on after the fact. It needs to sit in the payment flow itself, before money moves.”

The research highlights the potential role of Open Banking technology in addressing these challenges.

Open Banking account verification enables businesses to check a payee’s name against records held by their bank in real time, before a payment is released.

Operating on a similar principle to Confirmation of Payee, the process uses a regulated API to verify account details, rather than relying on manual checks or documentation.

According to Finexer, some businesses continue to rely on document-based or email-based confirmation of bank details when establishing who they are paying.

Embedding verification directly into payment workflows could provide an alternative to these processes.

Opportunities for Fintech, Payroll and Financial Management Platforms

The findings highlight opportunities for fintech providers, payroll platforms, accounting software businesses and enterprise resource planning (ERP) providers to strengthen payment verification capabilities.

Businesses processing high volumes or values of payments, including payroll providers, legal and property firms handling client funds, and organisations settling supplier invoices, are among those identified in the report as potentially benefiting from verification at the point of payment.

Finexer’s research suggests that integrating verification earlier in the payment process could help businesses address potential risks before funds are transferred, rather than relying on remedial action after an incorrect payment has been made.

The report also encourages B2B platforms to consider strengthening their verification processes proactively, rather than waiting for regulatory requirements comparable to consumer reimbursement protections.

Supporting the Development of Open Banking Infrastructure

As an FCA-authorised Open Banking infrastructure provider, Finexer supports mid-market B2B platforms through a single API covering payments, financial data and verification.

The Fintech Wales member was also ranked 32nd in the 2026 Sifted 100 fastest-growing startups in the UK and Ireland.

Its latest research provides further insight into the role Open Banking infrastructure can play in improving payment processes and addressing verification challenges across UK businesses.

The full report, The Open Banking Data and Payments Automation Landscape, includes a five-stage payment automation maturity model and recommendations tailored to different business roles.

Research methodology: Finexer surveyed 418 senior business leaders working at UK organisations employing between 10 and 500 people. Fieldwork was conducted in August 2026. Confirmation of Payee coverage and fraud prevention figures are sourced from Pay.UK reporting (March 2026) and PSR data, rather than Finexer’s own research.