Notice to staff: changes to payment details

General information, not legal or financial advice. Put your business name and the approver names at the bottom before you print.

The rule

We never change where we send a payment because of an email, letter, text or message alone. Every change is checked by phone, on a number we already had, before it is used.

If a vendor asks to change bank details

1. Do not reply to the request and do not use the phone number or link in it.
2. Do not enter the new details yet.
3. Call the vendor on the number we recorded earlier. Follow the call-back script.
4. Ask them to read the last four digits of the new account. Compare with the request.
5. Write down the result in the log.
6. A second person approves the change before the new details are used.

Warning signs

• The request says it is urgent, or secret, or that the usual people must not be told.
• The sender offers a new phone number to confirm on.
• The bank is in a different country or has a different name from before.
• The sender gets annoyed when you say you will call back.

These signs do not prove anything either way. The check is the same every time.

If you are unsure

Stop and ask the owner. It is always acceptable to delay a payment while a check is finished.

Business:   Approver:   Backup: