29 April 2020
45 Pipitea Street, Thorndon, Wel ington 6011
PO Box 805, Wel ington 6140
Phone +64 4 495 7200
Glen Barnes
Fax +64 4 382 3589
fyi-request-12598-
Email [email address]
[email address]
Website www.dia.govt.nz
Dear Glen,
Your Official Information Act request OIA 1920-0685
I write regarding your Official Information Act (Act) request, received by the Department of
Internal Affairs (Department) on 9 April 2020.
You have requested:
Your "FIN110 Supplier Maintenance" form states that one of the fol owing is required for
proof of bank account:
"Any of the fol owing:
- A pre-printed deposit slip which includes the ful bank account number (bank, branch,
account number and suffix) and the account holder's name.
- A bank statement which includes the ful bank account number (bank, branch, account
number and suffix) and the account holder's name.
- A letter from the bank which includes the ful bank account number (bank, branch, account
number and suffix) and the account holder's name. This must be signed and stamped by the
bank.
- An internet printout which includes the ful bank account number (bank, branch, account
number and suffix) and the account holder's name and the web address along the top or
bottom of the page. This does not need to be signed and stamped by the bank unless al of
the above is not provided on the printout.
- ATM printout must show the bank logo and the ful bank account number (bank, branch,
account number and suffix) and the account holder's ful name.
- Hand-written bank account evidence as long as it includes the ful bank account number
(bank, branch, account number and suffix) and the account holder's name. This must be
signed and stamped by the bank."
1. Can you please supply any policy documents regarding these requirements and
advice given by your auditors.
2. Can you please let me know why services such as TransferWise Borderless accounts
which use the BNZ as a clearing bank are not acceptable to receive money?
3. If TransferWise accounts are in fact acceptable can you tel me why your purchasing
refuse to accept internet printouts of TransferWise bank statements or a letter from
TransferWise stating that the account has been issued to the suppliers company.
Response to your request in the order requested:
1. Can you please supply any policy documents regarding these requirements and advice
given by your auditors?
It is the Department’s responsibility to implement internal controls as precautions to
safeguard the business operations and mitigate risk of fraud and irregularities. The
procedure to verify a bank account is part of the Department’s process to prevent both
internal and external fraud regarding unauthorised setup or changes in bank accounts.
The bank account verification check is used as an indicator of the existence of a supplier
account or the identity of the account holder. This provides the Department with more
certainty that the account we are crediting belongs to the intended recipient of the
payment, to prevent payment to unauthorised parties.
It is in both the Department and the suppliers’ best interests to ensure the supplier bank
account is setup correctly and that payments are made or credited to the rightful account
for the goods and services delivered.
The requirements are available on the Department’s website under the heading
“Maintaining your details”. Refer to the link below.
https://www.dia.govt.nz/Purchasing#Details
A supplier wil normal y receive a form from the Purchasing team to setup or maintain their
details, which includes the acceptable bank verification requirements. Please refer to the
FIN110 – Supplier Maintenance form in Appendix A.
Audit New Zealand, the Department’s auditor also requires assurance that the Department
has an adequate management control environment and internal controls to support the
preparation of financial statements and mitigate the risk of fraud (internal and external) and
material mis-statements. The auditing standards require the auditor to obtain sufficient
audit evidence as part of the audit work. Although there is no specific reference or
discussion about bank account verification or change in creditor master files, they consider
this is a good control step and evidence of best practice across the public sector.
Page 2 of 5
2. Can you please let me know why services such as TransferWise Borderless accounts
which use the BNZ as a clearing bank are not acceptable to receive money?
TransferWise is not a bank but a business that is “a free online international business
account used to send, spend and receive in multiple currencies with the real exchange rate”1.
It banks with BNZ and al ocates bank account numbers to clients.
The Department have not made a payment through TransferWise as supplier’s nominated
bank account in the past. The Department has received a request from a supplier to use
TransferWise to receive payment, however, the physical address stated in the TransferWise
statement is not the account holder’s address and the internet printout provided by the
supplier was not from a bank website. The Purchasing team requested the supplier to
provide an overseas or New Zealand bank account and verification instead.
The Department cannot comment on whether TransferWise Borderless accounts which use
the BNZ as a clearing bank is acceptable to receive money. Based on the Department’s
internal controls, we believe there is a potential risk in protecting the supplier from
completing the transaction where there is a third party involved in the payment.
3. If TransferWise accounts are in fact acceptable can you tel me why your purchasing
refuse to accept internet printouts of TransferWise bank statements or a letter from
TransferWise stating that the account has been issued to the suppliers company.
The Department’s internal control process reflects our own operational approach from a
fraud risk mitigation perspective. However, if the supplier wishes to accept the risk and stil
prefers to use the TransferWise account, please liaise with the Department to amend the
payment details. The Purchasing team wil cal the supplier and confirm in person the details
provided and setup the account accordingly.
If you have any feedback or questions about the Department’s response, please let us know
at [email address].
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision.
Information about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz
or Freephone 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
Sharyn Mitchel
Chief Financial Officer
1 https://transferwise.com/gb/business
Page 2 of 5
Appendix A – FIN110 Supplier Maintenance
New Supplier Set-Up
Send banking verification to [email address]
P2P Setup Details
Requestor
Date
Branch
Oganisation
☐ 1100 – DIA ☐ 1200 - CROWN
Account Group
☐ Domestic ☐Foreign
Supplier Details
Supplier
Legal Trading
Name:
Name:
Physical
PO Box
Address:
Address:
Supplier
GST Number:
contact email:
Payment
☐ Immediate
terms
☐ 20th of fol owing month
☐ 1st of fol owing month
☐ 15th of fol owing month
☐ 7 days from date of invoice
☐ 14 days from date of
invoice
Payment information
Can this Supplier accept Credit
☐ Yes ☐ No
Card?
Foreign Suppliers
BSB or Routing No:
Swift Code
Account No. or IBAN:
Bank Name:
Branch Name:
Account
Name:
Branch Address:
Page 2 of 5
Acceptable bank verification
Evidence type Acceptable evidence
Bank account Any of the fol owing:
- A pre-printed deposit slip which includes the ful bank account number
(bank, branch, account number and suffix) and the account holder's
name.
- A bank statement which includes the ful bank account number (bank,
branch, account number and suffix) and the account holder's name.
- A letter from the bank which includes the ful bank account number
(bank, branch, account number and suffix) and the account holder's
name. This must be signed and stamped by the bank.
- An internet printout which includes the ful bank account number (bank,
branch, account number and suffix) and the account holder's name and
the web address along the top or bottom of the page. This does not need
to be signed and stamped by the bank unless al of the above is not
provided on the printout.
- ATM printout must show the bank logo and the ful bank account
number (bank, branch, account number and suffix) and the account
holder's ful name.
- Hand-written bank account evidence as long as it includes the ful bank
account number (bank, branch, account number and suffix) and
the account holder's name. This must be signed and stamped by the bank.
Page 2 of 5
