Business fraud losses are typically far larger than personal fraud losses, and fraudsters are getting more sophisticated at causing them.
Payment approvals - requiring a second person to check and authorise larger payments before they go out - is one of the simplest controls a business can put in place to reduce that risk.
Why business fraud is different
- Businesses move larger sums of money than individuals, so a single successful scam causes a bigger loss.
- More people typically have access to a business account (owners, staff, bookkeepers), which means more potential entry points for fraudsters.
- Fraudsters increasingly use AI to research targets and produce convincing scams faster than before.
- Once money has been sent to a fraudster, it is often not recoverable.
What payment approvals do
Payment approvals let you set a rule that any payment above a chosen amount must be checked and approved by a specified person, or two people, before it's sent. You control:
- The threshold (the payment size that triggers approval).
- Whether one approver or two are required.
- Different rules for different accounts within your business.
Why this control works
Fraud tends to succeed when one person, acting alone and under pressure, is talked into approving a payment quickly.
A second approver isn't part of that call or email, isn't under the same pressure, and can ask a simple question: why does this payment need to happen right now?
Examples of how this may look in practice
- Bank impersonation and fake website: A fraudster called a business owner claiming to be from their bank's fraud team, then directed them to a fake login page. During the call, the fraudster talked the owner through approving new payee and payment requests in the genuine banking app.
- Fake "safe account" investigation: A customer was told their funds were at risk and needed to be moved to "safe" accounts while the bank investigated. They authorised 10 separate Faster Payments before realising it was fraud.
In both cases, a second approver checking the payment independently, without the pressure of being on the call, could have stopped the payments.
Won't this slow my business down?
Not if it's set up correctly. Thresholds are fully configurable, so you can limit the extra check to the payments worth protecting.
For example: single approval for payments over £5,000, dual approval for payments over £50,000. Everyday spending below those thresholds is processed as normal.
Setting this up with Allica
If you’d like to add extra approval steps to payments from your Allica account, you can get started in a few ways:
- Through online banking
- By calling our Customer Service team
- By speaking to your relationship manager, who can talk you through the options and what might suit your business
Summary
Payment approvals add a second check just when fraudsters need nobody to be looking too closely.
It takes a few minutes to set up in your account settings, costs nothing extra, and doesn't require training or vigilance in the moment. It's as simple as a second person checking the situation and seeing it with fresh eyes.
If you haven't set payment approvals up, your Relationship Manager can talk you through it.
Worried about fraud?
Visit our Fraud Centre for immediate help and further advice.
