Sure. I think there’s plenty of things banks can do that won’t completely topple the whole ease of access thing, at the worst case resulting in very minor temporary inconveniences on a once per payee basis.
Monzo have demonstrated such ideas with their proposed compliance with the code when it comes into effect for everyone. And they’re being smart about a lot of it which is good too.
Banks can take advantages of features like open banking or SCA for moving money between your own accounts as a means of verification. For anyone else, the first time you make a payment to them, escrow it for a few minutes (I’d make a case for a few hours). Let folks later revoke some payees from that if they want to (safeguard against abuse) so it does that every time. Sometimes, perhaps even most time, a few minutes is enough for folks to realise they’ve been hoodwinked.
Business and sole traders are likely to have the appropriate accounts which are more stringent, and is something the sending bank can verify. So that can resolve inconveniences on those payments too. But again, a brief escrow system is likely to impact far few folks than scam victims it would potentially save. I’d take a bit of friction here, personally. I’m not the stupid person today, but someday I might be. That’s enough a justification for me.
Instant payments are awesome when it’s to yourself or someone you know and trust, but not terribly necessary in other contexts, I don’t think. Same day is probably fast enough.
Edit: a reminder of some of Monzo’s ideas to help mitigate this type of fraud (none of which exists prior to the APP code applying to all banks rather than opt in, which is what makes them negligent IMO)