New EU obligation for bank transfers: Exact recipient names required

From October 9, 2025, a new obligation for banks will come into force throughout the EU: for SEPA credit transfers and SEPA real-time credit transfers, credit institutions must match the recipient's name with the IBAN account holder. The aim is to prevent fraudulent or misdirected payments.

For the city of Jena and its own companies (Kommunalservice Jena, Kommunale Immobilien Jena, JenaKultur, Jenaer Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft and jenarbeit), this means that the recipient's name must be matched with the IBAN account holder: In future, the recipient's name for transfers must be stated exactly as it appears in the respective official account name - for example, "Kommunalservice Jena" or "Kommunale Immobilien Jena".

"Even minor deviations in the name - such as typing errors, additions or old designations - can lead to warnings, delays or even the rejection of a payment," explains the city of Jena.

What is changing?

• For every SEPA (real-time) transfer, an automatic comparison is made between the recipient's name and IBAN.
• Any discrepancies in the recipient's name can trigger warning messages, delay processing or lead to the payment being rejected.
• This obligation applies to all payment service providers throughout the EU/EEA.

What should be done?

The City of Jena asks all contractual partners, suppliers and customers to check their master data and templates. In contracts, orders, proof of performance, invoice footers and payment information, only the respective exact recipient name of the City of Jena or the relevant municipal enterprise is to be used in future. Offers, order confirmations and invoices should also explicitly state that the recipient's name must be specified exactly.

This measure will ensure that payments to the City of Jena and its municipal enterprises continue to be made smoothly and without delays.