VerifyNowMake sure the bank account belongs to who you think it does
Before you release a salary, a supplier payment, a refund or a loan disbursement, run a real-time check with the account holder's own bank. Catch invoice-redirection, payroll-switch and refund scams before the money moves. No code — straight from your dashboard.
From bank details to a go / no-go in seconds
You stay in the VerifyNow dashboard the whole time. We talk to the bank on your behalf and come back with a plain-English result.
Enter the details
Account number, branch, account type, and the name + ID (or company registration number) of the person or business the account should belong to.
We ask the bank
In real time, the account holder's own bank confirms whether the details you have match what they have on record.
Get a clear answer
A plain-English result card tells you: pay, pause, or escalate. Every check is logged for FICA audit.
Built for the person releasing the payment
Operations, finance, HR and compliance teams across South Africa run these checks every day to stop the fraud that actually hits their business.
Confirm the real account holder
Check that the name and ID on the account match the person or company that handed you the bank details.
FICA & POPIA ready
Every check produces an audit-grade record for customer due diligence, kept on file in your VerifyNow dashboard.
Answer in seconds
Real-time bank-side lookup. You don't leave the screen and neither does your customer.
Every major SA bank
ABSA, FNB, Standard Bank, Nedbank, Capitec, Investec, African Bank, TymeBank, Discovery, Bidvest, Sasfin, Bank Zero.
Catches the big fraud patterns
Invoice redirection, payroll account switching, refund-to-wrong-account scams, identity-swapping: all flagged before the money moves.
Run it yourself, no code
Straight from your VerifyNow dashboard. If your team later wants to automate, an API is available — but it's optional, not required.
The fraud types a bank-account check stops cold
South Africa loses billions a year to bank-related fraud. Most of it follows the same four patterns — all caught by a single pre-payment check.
Payment Redirection Fraud
Criminals intercept an invoice and change the bank details on it. The supplier name looks familiar. You pay — into the criminal’s account.
Verify that the bank account really belongs to the supplier before every payment.
Payroll Fraud
Fake employees added to payroll, or real employees' bank details quietly changed to an account the criminal controls.
Verify every employee's bank account before each payroll run.
Refund Fraud
A "customer" asks for a refund but to a different bank account from the one that paid you — and that account belongs to them, not the original buyer.
Confirm account ownership against the original buyer before you refund anyone.
Identity Theft & Account Takeover
A stolen ID used to open an account — or to claim ownership of someone else's account — so payouts get redirected.
Check the bank account against a verified ID number, not just a name.
Every major bank in South Africa
Works for individuals and companies, across current, savings, transmission, bond and subscription-share accounts.
If your team releases money, you need this
Real-world scenarios where a 10-second check saves five- or six-figure losses.
Accounts Payable
Verify supplier bank details before every invoice run. Stops invoice-redirection fraud before the money leaves.
Payroll & HR
Confirm employee accounts on onboarding and again whenever an employee requests a change to their banking details.
Insurance Claims
Validate the claimant's account before the payout to stop refund redirection and fraudulent claimants.
Property & Conveyancing
Confirm trust-account and beneficiary details on every transfer — the payment size makes this one of the highest-risk categories.
Lending & Credit
Verify the borrower's account before disbursement, and again on any change to their banking setup.
Government & Municipal
Grants, refunds and vendor payments need the same ownership check that private sector AP teams already rely on.
Seven questions, seven yes / no answers
Every check answers the same set of business-critical questions. That's what decides pay, pause, or escalate.
If any answer is "No", the result card flags it in red with a recommended next step — pause the payment and confirm with the counterparty through a trusted channel.
Straight from the account holder's bank
The yes/no answer on every check comes from the bank that actually holds the account — verified against their own records, not a cached database. VerifyNow provides this service exclusively for fraud detection and fraud prevention, a prescribed purpose under Regulation 18(4)(b) of the National Credit Act (2005) and a recognised legitimate interest of the responsible party under Section 11(1)(f) of POPIA. The service is designed to support FICA customer due diligence for accountable institutions, and every check leaves an audit entry on your VerifyNow account that you can export on demand.
Questions from finance & ops teams
What does bank account verification actually do?
You type in the account number, branch, account type, and the name + ID number (or company registration number) of the person or business the account should belong to. VerifyNow asks that bank, in real time, whether those details match what the bank has on record. You get a clear yes/no answer in seconds — so you know whether it's safe to release the payment.
Which South African banks are supported?
All the major SA banks are covered: ABSA, First National Bank (FNB), Standard Bank, Nedbank, Capitec, Investec, African Bank, TymeBank, Discovery Bank, Bidvest Bank, Sasfin and Bank Zero. Current, savings, transmission, bond and subscription-share accounts all work, for both individuals and companies.
What will I actually see back after running a check?
A plain-English result card showing: whether the account exists, whether it's currently open, whether the name on the account matches the name you gave, whether the ID or company registration number matches the account holder, whether the account type you were told matches the bank's record, and whether the account can receive credits and debits. Plus a one-line summary telling you whether to pay, pause, or escalate.
How long does a check take?
Usually a few seconds. The exact timing depends on how quickly the responding bank answers, but the flow is designed so you stay on the same screen and your customer, employee or supplier doesn't have to wait.
Is this FICA compliant?
Yes. Bank account verification supports customer due diligence (CDD) obligations under FICA and produces a defensible audit record that you confirmed the account holder's identity and bank details before you opened the relationship or released the payment.
Am I allowed to run this check on someone?
Yes, for fraud detection and prevention. That purpose is prescribed under Regulation 18(4)(b) of the National Credit Act and is a recognised legitimate interest of the responsible party under Section 11(1)(f) of POPIA. If you are an accountable institution, bank account verification also supports your FICA due-diligence and record-keeping obligations under Section 22.
Can I check company bank accounts too, not just individuals?
Yes. Switch the holder to Company, enter the registered company name and its CIPC registration number (or trust number), and the rest of the flow is identical. Same yes/no result, same supported banks.
What should I do if the check comes back as a mismatch?
Treat any mismatch — wrong name, wrong ID number, wrong account type, or an account that isn't open — as a fraud signal. Pause the payment. Contact the counterparty through a trusted channel you already had (not a number or email from the invoice), confirm the correct details, then re-run the check before releasing funds. For what each check costs, see our bank account verification pricing.
Stop paying into the wrong account
Open your VerifyNow dashboard, enter the bank details, get an answer in seconds.