Account Number

What does an account number do?

Every Australian bank account is reached by two things: a six-digit BSB that names the bank and branch, and the account number that names the specific account within it. Together they tell the banking system exactly where funds should land. On their own, though, these digits prove nothing about who owns the account. A finance team keying a supplier’s BSB and account number from an emailed invoice is trusting that the numbers belong to the real supplier, when a fraudster who altered the invoice can supply digits that route straight to a mule account.

Why it matters for Australian finance teams

Account numbers are the single point of failure in most payment redirection fraud. The payment succeeds technically, because the digits are valid and the money moves, but it lands in the wrong hands. Scamwatch, run by the ACCC, records tens of millions of dollars lost each year to payment redirection and false billing, most of it traced to a changed account number that no one confirmed against the account’s true owner before releasing the pay run.

How ezyshield helps

ezyshield confirms that the person or business you are paying actually owns the account behind those digits before money moves. It verifies the payee’s identity, validates the business through ABN and ASIC records, and checks bank account ownership, so a valid-looking account number is not enough on its own to receive your payment. If the account details later change, ezyshield triggers re-verification rather than trusting the new digits. Every check is written to an append-only audit trail that is logged and never edited or deleted. See how it works and bank account ownership verification.