How to verify a PayID payment request before acting

Check your bank—not the buyer’s screenshot or message

If an online buyer says they paid by PayID, open your banking app or website through your usual route and look for the incoming transaction. Do not use a link, email, QR code or phone number the buyer supplied. A message that says you must pay, refund an “extra” amount or upgrade an account before receiving funds is not a PayID requirement.

Australian Payments Plus says PayID never contacts users and never asks them to send money to receive money or upgrade an account. Consumer and Business Services South Australia describes the same fake-payment pattern in online selling. This checklist is educational, does not guarantee payment finality, and has no commission relationship with the sources below.

Source: Australian Payments Plus — PayID · Consumer and Business Services South Australia — PayID scams

Separate the payment service from the impersonation story

PayID itself is a legitimate addressing service linked to a bank account. AP+ says a payer can use a mobile number, email address, ABN or Organisation Identifier and will be shown the linked name before sending. That name check helps the payer; it is not evidence to the seller that money has arrived.

The scam layer usually arrives outside banking: a fake email or text, a claim about a “business account”, or pressure to reimburse money that is not visible in your account. Bendigo Bank says there is no PayID business-account upgrade or unblock option and no extra action is required before money is received.

Source: Australian Payments Plus — PayID · Bendigo Bank — PayID scams

Treat behaviour as a prompt to verify, not proof by itself

CBS SA lists patterns such as a buyer saying someone else will collect, accepting immediately, insisting on PayID, sending convincing messages and then demanding an upgrade payment or reimbursement. Any one behaviour can have an innocent explanation. The decisive control is whether your independently reached bank shows the incoming transaction and whether anyone asks you to send money first.

Do not let a stranger set up PayID for you, and do not disclose banking credentials or security codes. Sharing the PayID you already chose is different from giving someone access to your account. If you are unsure what your bank displays for an incoming payment, use the bank’s official contact route before handing over the item.

Source: Consumer and Business Services South Australia — PayID scams · Bendigo Bank — PayID scams

Run a five-step seller check

Keep the sale conversation on the marketplace, agree the exact price, share only the PayID you intend to use, open banking independently, and match the payer or transaction reference, amount and status. Release the item under your own documented handover rule only after the bank confirms what you need to know; an email “receipt” is not a substitute.

If the buyer claims an overpayment, do not send a refund based on the claim. Pause and ask your bank to verify the incoming entry and the safest response. This avoids turning an unverified message into a real outgoing payment.

Source: Australian Payments Plus — PayID · Consumer and Business Services South Australia — PayID scams

Use a cash-flow test on the upgrade story

Suppose an item price is A$640. A message claims the buyer sent A$980 and asks you to return A$340 to “activate” or “upgrade” PayID, but your bank shows no incoming transaction. Verified incoming cash is A$0 and the requested outgoing cash is A$340, so acting would move your position to negative A$340—not settle a A$640 sale.

Change the scenario: your bank shows an incoming A$640 transaction and there is no request for an outgoing payment. The verified cash-flow check is then positive A$640. That still does not let this article guarantee settlement, reversal rights or release timing; ask your bank when those details matter.

Source: Australian Payments Plus — PayID · Bendigo Bank — PayID scams

Preserve the evidence and act quickly if you responded

Save the listing, profile, messages, email headers, phone number and transaction references. CBS SA says to report suspected loss promptly to your bank and report the scam through Scamwatch; it also points to IDCARE for damage-limitation support. Bendigo Bank tells its customers to report suspicious activity promptly through official channels.

Your next step is to write a one-line handover rule: “I confirm payment only inside banking reached through my usual app or saved address, and I never pay to receive PayID funds.” Use it before the next sale. Recheck all three sources by 25 October 2026 because scam instructions and banking displays can change.

Source: Consumer and Business Services South Australia — PayID scams · Bendigo Bank — PayID scams

Changes to this guide

25 September 2026: First publication after payments-provider, government and bank verification, two cash-flow recalculations and cross-network originality screening.