One of the most expensive mistakes a small business can make is paying the right amount into the wrong account. It usually happens in one of two ways: a typing slip, or a fraudster who has intercepted an email and sent "updated banking details" that look exactly like the real supplier's.
What a format check can and can't do
Our bank account checker tells you a bank's branch code and SWIFT code, and whether an account number has the right number of digits. That catches a missing digit or a letter typed by mistake. It can't tell you whether the account exists or whose it is: the banks check account numbers with rules they don't publish, and only they know who owns an account.
Verify the account with your bank
Most South African banks let you verify a new beneficiary in their app or online banking before you pay: you enter the account number and the name, ID number or company registration number you expect, and the bank tells you whether they match. Do this for every new supplier, and again whenever a supplier's details change.
The changed-details fraud
The pattern is always similar. An email or letter arrives, apparently from a supplier you already pay, saying their bank account has changed. It may be on the right letterhead, from what looks like the right address, and arrive just before a big invoice is due. The new account belongs to the fraudster.
Protect yourself with a few habits:
- Never act on emailed bank details alone. Phone the supplier on a number you already have, not one in the email, and ask them to confirm the change.
- Verify the new account with your bank before the first payment.
- Make a small test payment for a new large payee, and confirm it arrived.
- Separate the jobs if you can: the person who changes bank details shouldn't be the person who approves the payment.
- Be wary of urgency. "Pay today or we stop supplying" is a classic pressure line.
If you've paid the wrong account
Phone your bank immediately. Banks can sometimes recall a payment if they act quickly, but there's no guarantee once the money has been moved on. Report fraud to the police and keep every email and document.
Sources
This is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice.