Law firms are entrusted with client money — completion funds, settlements, escrow balances — that can run to very large sums. Criminals know this, which is why the legal sector is heavily targeted by payment-redirection fraud, especially around property completions.
Why the stakes are so high
A redirected completion payment can mean a client loses their house deposit and the firm faces severe liability. Unlike everyday payments, there is often no second chance to recover the funds. Verifying the payee before release is one of the strongest controls available.
No room for error
For client-account payments, a Verification of Payee 'no match' should be a hard stop. The cost of pausing to confirm is trivial next to the cost of a misdirected completion.
Where VoP fits
- 1 Verify the destination account whenever payment details are received or changed.
- 2 Confirm changes via a known, independent channel — never the email that sent them.
- 3 Treat a mismatch on a high-value release as a hard stop.
- 4 Log the VoP outcome against the matter for compliance evidence.
Protecting client money
RoxPay's Verification of Payee gives legal finance teams a real-time name check to confirm client-account and escrow payments reach the right destination, every time.