(27 August 2024 – Australia) Westpac is releasing a new safety feature for large corporate and government clients on its payables platform, PaymentsPlus, enabling enhanced defence against payment redirection scams.
Westpac Verify will soon be available for businesses to run checks 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 A$92 million in 2023, according to the ACCC’s annual Targeting Scams report” states Westpac Wire Editor James Thornhill.
“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” commented Westpac Head of Fraud Prevention, Ben Young.
“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.”