Simulating Account Holder Verification

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This page describes the behaviour of version 2 of the endpoint. For the article for version 1, see Simulating Account Holder Verification (v1).

The sandbox environment for Account Holder Verification (AHV) allows you to test your integration before going live, including different match levels, name variations, and fallback conditions — without involving any real accounts or providers.

This simulator supports both:

Confirmation of Payee (CoP): for GBP payments via Faster Payments
Verification of Payee (VoP): for EUR payments via SEPA (SEPA Credit Tranfer, SEPA Instant, SEPA Direct Debit)

Supported Features

In the sandbox, you can simulate:

Exact name matches
Close matches (e.g. spelling differences or mismatched account types)
No matches (e.g. incorrect names, invalid accounts, opt-outs)
Fallback behavior for unknown (non-predefined) inputs
Error responses (e.g. technical error)

All responses follow the same API format as in production — enabling accurate and efficient testing.

How CoP vs. VoP is Determined from Payload

There is no explicit field in the request to select CoP or VoP. Instead, the verification type is automatically inferred from the contents of the request:

Country Code	`account` Format	`financialInstitution` Format	Verification service applied	Notes
`GB`	UK Account Number	Sort Code (6-digit)	CoP (UK)	For GBP payments via Faster Payments
SEPA country codes (e.g. `DE`, `PT`, `NL`) / optional	IBAN	Optional BIC / empty	VoP (SEPA)	For EUR payments via SEPA Credit Transfer, SEPA Instant, SEPA Direct Debit. Note: A GB-IBAN is also always treated as VoP (not CoP).

Country Code

account Format

financialInstitution Format

Verification service applied

Notes

GB

UK Account Number

Sort Code (6-digit)

CoP (UK)

For GBP payments via Faster Payments

SEPA country codes (e.g. DE, PT, NL) / optional

IBAN

Optional BIC / empty

VoP (SEPA)

For EUR payments via SEPA Credit Transfer, SEPA Instant, SEPA Direct Debit.

Note: A GB-IBAN is also always treated as VoP (not CoP).

Important notes:

IBANs will always be checked using the VoP service, even if they are GB IBANs
To trigger a request via CoP UK, you must specify both an account number and sort code
Invalid or mixed combinations will result in a validation error

How to Simulate Specific Match Scenarios

To trigger a specific match result, submit one of the predefined input combinations as listed below. The sandbox will respond with the corresponding matchLevel, reasonCode, and description.

Predefined CoP Test Cases

Test Case	verificationName	verificationType	financialInstitution	account	country	matchLevel	accountHolder	reasonCode	description	detailedDescription
Match - Personal Account	Samantha Smythe	Personal	999996	1	GB	Match
Match - Business Account	Bridgford Gardening	Business	999996	11	GB	Match
Close Match - Wrong Name	Sam Smythe	Personal	999996	1	GB	Close match	MISS SAMANTHA SMYTHE	MBAM	There may be a match on the Account Name	The CoP Responder has performed the matching and it is a close match
No Match - Wrong Type P2B	Samantha Smythe	Business	999996	1	GB	No match		PANM	Personal account, name matches	The CoP Requester indicated a business account, but it is actually a personal account and the name matches
No Match - Wrong Type B2P	Bridgford Gardening	Personal	999996	11	GB	No match		BANM	Business account, name matches	The CoP Requester indicated a personal account, but it is actually a business account and the name matches
No Match - Wrong Name	David Smythe	Personal	999996	1	GB	No match		ANNM	Account Name does Not Match	The CoP Responder has performed the matching and confirms it is not a match
No Match - Invalid Account	Samantha Smythe	Personal	999996	98989898	GB	No match		AC01	Incorrect Account Number	Account does not exist in the CoP Responder’s books
No Match Opted Out	Johnson Logistics	Business	999996	48	GB	No match		OPTO	Opted out of CoP Scheme	Payee has been opted out of the CoP service by the CoP Responder
No Match Account Not Supp.	Not Supported	Personal	999996	62	GB	No match		ACNS	Account type Not Supported for CoP	Account not supported for CoP by the CoP Responder
Error	any non ASCII name	Personal	any	any	GB	Error		ValidationError	400 Bad request	Search criteria is invalid.\nName: 'Name' is empty or has invalid data.

Predefined VoP Test Cases

Use the following IBAN-based inputs to simulate VoP responses.

Test Case	verificationName	account	MatchLevel	AccountHolder	ReasonCode	Description	DetailedDescription
Match – Exact	Maria Silva	PT50000100018763312236976	Match
Match – Close	Marya Silva	PT50000100018763312236976	Close match	Maria Silva
Match - Exact		NL16RABO7600386364	Match
Verification Not Possible	Maria Unknown	PT50000100018763312236976	Error		NOAP	Verification check not possible.	Verification Check Not Possible or Validation Check is not applicable.
Error – Internal Server Error	Unknown Unknown	PT50000100018763312236976	Error		Error	Technical Error	Unexpected technical error. An exception occurs during code execution and the request cannot be further processed.
No match Catch-All – Unknown Input	Any Name	Any SEPA IBAN	No match

Catch-All Fallback for Unknown Inputs

If your input does not match any predefined sandbox test case, the system returns a default "No Match" response — allowing you to test how your application handles unrecognized or unknown accounts.

Type	Trigger	Fallback Response	Notes
CoP	Unrecognized sort code, account number, or name	matchLevel: No match reasonCode: ANNM description: Account Name does Not Match detailedDescription: The CoP Responder has performed the matching and confirms it is not a match	Returned when sort code + account number combination is not predefined
VoP	Unrecognized IBAN or name	matchLevel: No match	Returned when IBAN is not predefined

Notes

The sandbox is stateless and returns predefined responses only
No real data is accessed or verified
CoP and VoP are both supported on the same AHV endpoint, selection is based on input fields