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checklist · Fair Play Council · Updated 13 October 2026
Payment‑change verification checklist
A practical checklist for verifying new or changed payment details before money moves. Use it for supplier invoices, payroll, customer refunds and any urgent request to redirect a payment.
Copy and complete this checklist
- Record the request. Date and time received: [ ]. Received by: [ ]. Requested by/name and role: [ ]. Channel: [email / phone / message / invoice / other]. Supplier, customer, employee, or other party: [ ]. Existing relationship and last verified payment details/date: [ ]. Requested change: [new payee / account or routing details / payment method / other]. Effective date requested: [ ]. Amount or expected payment range: [ ]. Reason given: [ ]. Save the original request and relevant invoice securely: [file/reference].
- Pause the payment. Mark the change as pending verification in your records. Do not update saved payee details, approve a payment, or send a test transfer merely because the request sounds plausible. Is there unusual urgency, secrecy, a last-minute invoice change, a new contact, or a request to bypass normal approval? [yes/no; details]. If yes, treat that as a reason for extra checking, not as proof either way.
- Check what changed. Compare the request with the last verified record. What differs? [ ]. Does the payee name match the business or person you expected to pay? [ ]. Are the account country, currency, payment route, or destination different from before? [ ]. Is the change supported by a clear business reason and documentation? [ ]. A matching logo, email display name, or familiar writing style is not independent confirmation.
- Choose a trusted verification route. Contact the known person using a number or channel already on file and previously checked. Contact method and source of contact details: [ ]. Date/time: [ ]. Person reached and how their identity was checked: [ ]. If you cannot reach them, use another independently obtained contact route; do not use contact details supplied only in the change request. For a new supplier, verify through a credible, independently located business contact route before making payment. Record how you found it: [ ].
- Confirm the change directly. Ask the contact to confirm that they requested the change, the exact payee name, the relevant account details through a suitable secure process, the effective date, and the reason. Do not read out sensitive credentials or ask the contact to send security codes. Confirm details carefully and record only what your business needs for its payment record. Person confirming: [ ]. Date/time and method: [ ]. Details confirmed: [ ]. If the contact denies making the request, cannot confirm it, or the details differ, stop and go to step 9.
- Use available payment checks. Before paying, enter the payee details carefully and review any name-check or verification-of-payee result your bank or payment provider offers. Result shown: [ ]. Does it match the expected payee? [ ]. If there is no check, a warning, a partial match, or a mismatch, do not guess or override it just to meet a deadline. Ask your provider what the result means and return to the trusted contact to resolve the discrepancy.
- Get approval and preserve separation. Requested by: [ ]. Independently verified by: [ ]. Payment approved by: [ ]. Approval date/time: [ ]. Are these different people where practical? [yes/no; reason]. Follow your usual approval limits. For an exceptional or high-value change, obtain a second review even if the requester claims the usual approver is unavailable. Record any exception and its reason: [ ].
- Make the first payment cautiously. Confirm amount, currency, payee, and destination immediately before authorisation. Payment reference: [ ]. Date/time: [ ]. If your provider permits a suitable, secure confirmation or staged approach, ask the provider about it; do not assume a small test payment proves the details are safe. For a cross-border payment, check the route, currency, fees, and destination with your provider and the verified recipient.
- Close and monitor. Update the approved supplier or payroll record only after verification. Updated by/date: [ ]. Tell relevant staff how to use the new details without forwarding unnecessary personal or banking information. Check the payment status and reconcile it against the invoice or agreement. Follow-up date: [ ]. If the expected recipient says funds have not arrived, or anything looks wrong, contact your bank or payment provider promptly through its official channel.