Westpac to roll out payee verification feature for businesses
People entering an office building. (Getty)
A new Westpac safety feature is being rolled out to government and institutional clients adding an extra layer of defence against payment redirection scams.
Westpac Verify will soon be available on the bank’s payables platform, PaymentsPlus, enabling businesses to run a check on payee details before initiating payments, alerting them to potential account number and name mismatches.
Payment redirection scams - also known as business email compromise - involve a recipient receiving a legitimate looking email or invoice requesting a payment to new or updated account details. They are among the most common scams targeting businesses in Australia and caused losses amounting to $92 million in 2023, according to the ACCC’s annual Targeting Scams report.
A scammer gets into the system of a supplier or conveyancer, intercepts an email (or sends new emails from a similar email address) requesting the payment of an invoice, and makes changes. The letterhead is correct, the business name and email address remain the same, but it is a new BSB and ABN – a trap has been set for the victim to pay them directly into the rogue account.
Westpac’s Head of Fraud Prevention, Ben Young, shares some tips on how to avoid falling for business email compromise scams in this video:
SCAM SPOT: Has your biller been hacked
“International scammers target Australian businesses and government agencies that make large payments and often pay multiple invoices in batches. When scammers manage to steal funds from these organisations, the damages are significant and can have knock on impacts for their customers and suppliers,” said Nell Hutton, Chief Executive, Westpac Institutional Bank.
“We know businesses are increasingly improving their security measures to ensure they’re operating safely, including through tightening payments processes. Westpac Verify for PaymentsPlus will help our clients ensure they’re paying the right recipients, reducing the risk of errors and scam payments.”
Westpac Verify began rolling out to retail and small business customers earlier this year and is saving approximately $13 million per month in scams and mistaken payments. The function will be available on the PaymentsPlus platform from late September.