Supplier bank account changes

Changing a supplier’s bank account is the most common way fraudsters divert public money. Spend never pays a changed account until it has been verified.

When a supplier changes its account

1. The supplier enters the new account in the supplier portal (or the vendor master team enters it from a signed form).
2. Spend sends the change to Bank accounts for a callback: someone calls the supplier on the phone number already on file, never a number from the request, and records the result.
3. An ownership check with your account verification provider confirms the account belongs to the supplier.
4. A prenote (a zero-dollar ACH test) goes out before the first payment.

Invoices to a supplier with an unverified or very recent change stop with a bank exception, and the payment run guard checks again at release.

Red flags

Bank accounts lists changes waiting for a callback, failed ownership checks, and accounts on file for more than one business. A shared account with a different business is a strong fraud signal.