The Confirmation of Payee service, which will be implemented by the end of this month, adds an additional stage in the payment process, which checks the sort code and account number to ensure that the name on the account being paid is the same name that has been provided.

If the name is not the same customers will be sent an alert and the user will then be asked if they want to continue with the payment.

These checks are also designed to help stop payments going to the wrong account by spotting mistakes.

The service focuses on Chaps and Faster Payments, which are used for the majority of customer-initiated payments in the UK.

APP scams cost UK consumers £345 million in 2018, of which only £83m was recovered. After the Confirmation of Payee technology was plagued by a slow rollout, the UK Payment Systems Regulator ordered Lloyds, RBS Natwest, Barclays, HSBC, Nationwide and Santander to assure implementation of the new system by 31 March this year.

Paul Davis, Bank of Scotland fraud director, said: “We’ve been an active supporter of the Confirmation of Payee service from day one. Fraudsters are getting smarter in their tactics, so it’s more important than ever for people to stop and think carefully before transferring any money out of their account.”