Supplier reports new bank details: how to check properly
The notice arrives by email, often with letterhead and signature: the account has changed, please pay to the new IBAN from now on. Usually that is true. Sometimes a payment diversion is behind it, and then the money is gone. This procedure lets you tell the two apart before you pay.
The safe procedure for a change of bank details
Do not reply to the email and do not call any number from it. If the supplier's mailbox has been taken over, the fraudster would otherwise confirm their own change to you.
Call your contact on the number you know from the contract, master data or earlier contact. Have them read the new IBAN to you rather than reading it out yourself.
Note who spoke to whom and when, and file the note with the master data change. That way it remains traceable why the new bank details were approved.
The bank details in the system are changed or confirmed by a different person from the one who made the call-back. This also protects against typos.
The first payment to the new account deserves a second look: does your bank's Verification of Payee confirm that name and IBAN match?
Warning signs in the notice
Similar but different domain
A swapped letter, a different ending or an extra hyphen. Check the address behind the displayed name.
Blocked account or ongoing audit
Alleged account freezes, tax audits or bank mergers are meant to explain why a different account applies right now of all times.
New account in another country
A supplier from Germany with a suddenly foreign IBAN always deserves a follow-up question.
Urgency and confidentiality
The request for quick payment, for secrecy or for leaving the usual contact person out of it.
Shortly before a large payment
The change arrives shortly before a larger invoice falls due, or together with it. Anyone who has taken over a mailbox knows the open invoices.
Name does not match
When you make a transfer, your bank shows whether the name and IBAN match. If the name does not match, or only partly, pay only once this has been clarified.
Common mistakes in the procedure
Calling back on the number from the email
The phone number in the signature can be faked too. Only a number you already knew confirms anything.
Confirmation by email
Asking the same email address proves nothing if the mailbox has been taken over. Confirm by phone or in person through known contacts.
Exception for urgent cases
The urgent payment is precisely the target. A procedure that is suspended under time pressure offers no protection.
How the invoice check helps
Our invoice check compares the bank details of every incoming invoice with the supplier's history and warns you if they differ, the check digits are wrong, the IBAN country does not match the company's registered office or the same IBAN suddenly appears for a different supplier. We recognise new bank details shortly before a tight payment deadline as a pattern. For the comparison we do not store any plain-text IBAN, only an encrypted comparison value.
FAQ: new bank details
My supplier has new bank details, what do I need to do?
Confirm the change through a contact channel you already knew, ideally by phone. Record the call-back and have a second person approve the master data change before you pay to the new account.
Is asking by email enough?
No. If the supplier's mailbox has been taken over, the same fraudster answers your question. A confirmation only counts through an independent channel known beforehand.
How does a payment diversion typically work?
Fraudsters gain access to a mailbox or fake a sender address, read along on open invoices and then send a notice of new bank details or an invoice with a changed IBAN. The money goes to their account and is quickly passed on.
What does my bank's Verification of Payee show?
Since October 2025, banks check for euro transfers whether the payee's name and IBAN match, and show the result before you authorise the payment. This is a good additional safeguard, but it does not replace checking back.
Can changes of bank details be detected automatically?
Yes. The invoice check compares every incoming invoice with the supplier's previous bank details and warns you of a discrepancy before you pay. With the mailbox connection, this happens automatically for every incoming invoice.
Further reading
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