Creating or amending a payee

Payee details are required for you to make a payment, however there is often a misconception that banks validate that the BSB and Account Number matches the Account Name provided. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case in every payment type.

The introduction of PayID™ helped to resolve this issue, displaying a registered payee name as part of the payment details. However, this doesn’t mean an account is less or more suspicious, it just simply means you are able to have an indicator that the payment is going to an account held in the name of the person or company you are dealing with.

It’s important to watch out for red flags when making payments to a new or amended payee. We’ve listed some of these: 

• You’re investing or opening a savings/Term deposit account but have been advised your funds have to be processed through another bank account first
• Someone (outside of the bank) is guiding you through the steps to add a payee - they may be on the phone or a contact you’ve allowed to access your banking through Remote Access Software
• You’ve been asked to return a credit to your account that you weren’t expecting to receive
• The PayID name displayed onscreen is of someone entirely different to the person or company you are dealing with.

It's important to consider who you are paying, and the purpose. When paying someone for the first time you will likely be asked to enter a Security Code. Transactions performed to this payee afterwards, may not require a Security Code.

With Australian Banks moving to the real time payment model, Osko®, consumers have a level of expectancy to see their credit in the recipients account almost instantly. Banks may delay some transactions, where they hold valid fraud or scam concerns, however the frequency of this occurring is low.

It’s important you have validated the payee details with a trusted source. If you are paying someone you regularly pay and they email you saying they have changed or updated their account number, always call them on a number you’ve used before, to confirm the change.  

Ensure your funds are going where you expect them to go. Once a payment has been received, if the account holder transfers or withdraws the funds, retrieving the funds may no longer be possible.