Summary
You can move to a new bank account without customers paying a scammer by mistake. Send one notice from your usual address, ask customers to confirm it by calling a number they already hold, give the date the new account starts, and keep the old account open until every payment has moved over.
- Why it looks like a scam: Fraudsters send fake "our bank details have changed" emails. The FBI logged $3.05 billion in business email compromise losses in 2025.
- What the notice must say: Old and new account names, the date the change starts, a request to call you on a known number, and a line that you will never change details by email alone.
- After you send it: Update invoices, statements and reminders the same day, keep the old account open for a few months, and phone any customer who still pays the old account.
You have moved to a new bank, and every customer needs the new account number before their next payment. You write the email and see that it reads exactly like the emails fraudsters send when they want a supplier's payments sent to their own account.
Here is what a change of bank details letter needs to say, a template you can copy for a letter or email, a short SMS version, and what to do in the weeks after you send it.
How do you tell customers your bank details have changed?
Tell customers your bank details have changed in one notice that they can check without trusting the notice itself. That means a phone call to a number they already hold, not a number in the email.
- Open the new account first and confirm the exact account name, so it matches what customers type into their bank.
- Pick a start date for the new account, at least two weeks away, so customers can update their supplier records before a payment run.
- Send one notice from your usual email address or on your letterhead, signed by someone the customer knows.
- Ask customers to call you on the number they already have for you before they change anything.
- Put the new details on every invoice, statement and reminder from the start date, so the change shows up in more than one place.
- Keep the old account open for a few months and phone anyone who still pays into it.
Why does a real bank details change look like a scam?
A real bank details change looks like a scam because fraudsters send the same message to steal invoice payments. Criminals get into a supplier's mailbox, or copy its address with one letter changed, and email customers new payment details. Every payment after that goes to the criminal.
The fraud has different names in each market:
- United States: business email compromise (BEC). The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center logged 24,768 BEC complaints and $3,046,598,558 in reported losses in its 2025 Internet Crime Report.
- United Kingdom: payment diversion fraud, also called invoice or mandate fraud. Take Five to Stop Fraud, the UK Finance campaign, tells payers to query any change "as companies rarely change their bank details".
- Australia: payment redirection, which Scamwatch covers under business email compromise. It tells payers to stop and check any change to payee details.
Your customers' accounts teams have been trained on exactly this advice. Write your notice so it passes those checks: ask customers to confirm it by phone, and give them time to do it.
What should a change of bank details letter include?
A change of bank details letter should include both the old and new account details, the date the change starts, and a way to confirm it that does not depend on the letter. These are the parts and why each one is there:
| Part of the notice | Why it is there |
|---|---|
| Your business name, as it appears on invoices | Customers match it to the supplier record they already hold. |
| Old bank name and the last 4 digits of the old account | Shows which account is closing without repeating the full number. |
| New account name, bank, and account number with sort code, routing number or BSB | The details customers will key in. The account name should match the bank's records exactly. |
| Start date | Payments before this date go to the old account, payments from it go to the new one. |
| "Call us on the number you already have for us" | The check that a fraudster cannot fake. Do not print a new phone number. |
| "We will never change our bank details by email alone" | Tells customers to ignore any later email that claims another change. |
| Name of a person the customer knows | Gives the customer someone to ask for when they call. |
In the UK, the account name has to match. Banks run Confirmation of Payee, which checks the name a payer types against the account. A trading name that does not match the account name gives your customer a warning on the first payment.
Change of bank details letter template
This change of bank details letter template works as a printed letter on your letterhead or as an email from your usual address. Replace every part in square brackets.
Subject: [Your business name]: new bank account from [start date] Dear [customer name], We are moving our business bank account. From [start date], please pay all [Your business name] invoices into our new account: Account name: [exact account name] Bank: [bank name] [Sort code / Routing number / BSB]: [number] Account number: [number] Our old account at [old bank], ending [last 4 digits], stays open until [date]. Payments sent there before then will still reach us. Before you update your records, please call us on the phone number you already hold for [Your business name] to confirm these details. Please do not use any phone number or link in this message to check it. We will never change our bank details by email alone. If you receive any other request to change where you pay us, do not act on it and call us first. Your next invoice and statement will show the new details. Thank you, [Your name] [Job title], [Your business name]
For an email, keep it plain text with no attachment and no link. Customers confirm it by phone, so the email needs nothing to click.
What subject line should a change of bank details email use?
The subject line of a change of bank details email should name your business and the start date, and avoid urgency. A fraudster's email usually pushes for a fast change. Yours can say plainly that there is time to check.
- [Your business name]: new bank account from [start date]
- Our bank details change on [start date]: please confirm by phone
- [Your business name] payment details: update before [start date]
Short SMS version
An SMS works as a nudge that points to the full notice, never as the notice itself. Do not put account numbers in a text message.
[Your business name]: our bank account changes on [start date]. We have emailed the new details to your accounts team. Please call us on the number you already have for us to confirm before you update anything.
What should you do after you send the notice?
After you send the notice, make the new details show up everywhere a customer looks, and watch the old account until it goes quiet.
- On the start date, update invoice templates in Xero or QuickBooks, statements, reminder emails and your email signature.
- Tell the team who answers the phone that calls are coming and what to say.
- Keep the old account open for a few months, to cover customers with quarterly payment runs, and phone anyone who still pays into it.
- Send one reminder before the start date to the customers who have not called.
- Close the old account only once a full billing cycle has gone by with no payments into it.
If a customer says they got a different request
Treat it as fraud. Tell the customer not to pay the new account, ask them to contact their bank straight away, and change your email passwords. Report it to the IC3 in the US, or to Report Fraud, which replaced Action Fraud in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (0300 123 2040).
How does Paidnice help you announce new bank details?
Paidnice sends a bank details announcement to the customers you select in one go, and every reminder and statement after it carries your payment details and a link to pay. All of this is on every plan.
- Bulk announcements: send one announcement email, such as a bank detail change or a closure notice, to the customers you pick.
- Reminders and statements: each one carries your payment details and a pay link, so the new account appears in every message after the change.
- Customer portal: the customer payment portal lets customers pay one invoice, several, or the whole balance online.
- Direct debit: with direct debit through Stripe, customers pay from their own bank account without keying in your bank details at all.
💡 Paidnice insight
Customers who pay through a pay link or by direct debit never type your account number, so a fake bank details email gives them nothing to change.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to send a letter, or is an email enough?
An email from your usual address is enough for most customers, as long as it asks them to confirm by phone. Some larger customers' accounts payable teams ask for the change on letterhead, signed, so keep a PDF of the letter ready.
How long should I keep my old bank account open?
Keep the old account open until a full billing cycle has passed with no payments into it. For customers who pay quarterly, that can be three months or more.
Should I include the full old account number?
No. The last 4 digits are enough for the customer to find the right supplier record, and they give a fraudster less to copy.
What is payment diversion fraud?
Payment diversion fraud is when a criminal pretends to be a supplier and gets a customer to change the bank details they pay into. It is called invoice or mandate fraud in the UK, business email compromise in the US, and payment redirection in Australia.
Can I change bank details on invoices in Xero or QuickBooks?
Yes. Update the payment details in your invoice branding or template settings on the start date, so every new invoice shows the new account. Invoices already sent keep the old details, which is one reason to keep the old account open.
Paidnice features in this article
- Email and SMS reminders Sends reminders by email and SMS on your schedule, each with a link to pay.
- Direct debit Lets customers pay by direct debit through Stripe: ACH, Bacs, SEPA, BECS, NZ bank debit and Canadian PAD.
- Customer payment portal Shows customers every open invoice in one place, where they can pay.
About the editorial team
Ashley is a co-founder and lead developer of Paidnice and has built accounting software for more than 10 years. He builds the ledger connections that put reminders, late fees and payments into Xero, QuickBooks and ERPs such as NetSuite and Business Central. Before Paidnice he co-founded A2X, ecommerce accounting software for Xero and QuickBooks.
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