A supplier changed their bank details. What now?
A bank-detail change can be legitimate and still deserve a hard stop. The safest response is a short process that separates the incoming request from the route used to confirm it.
Pause the payment, not the relationship
Do not use the phone number, email address or link contained in the change request. Preserve the original message and place the payment on hold while the change is checked.
- Keep the original email and attachments.
- Record the old and proposed payment details.
- Tell the payment owner that verification is pending.
Use a contact route you already trusted
Call a known contact using a number from your supplier master data, a prior verified invoice or the supplier’s independently found official website. Ask them to confirm the change and who authorized it.
Require a second decision
The person who verifies the supplier should not be the only person who releases the new bank details. A second approver should compare the evidence and record the decision before payment resumes.
- Verifier and approver are different people.
- The hold remains until both steps are complete.
- The evidence stays attached to the decision.