Why this matters
Collecting payment details from the people you work with sounds straightforward. In practice, it's one of the most security-sensitive steps in any business relationship — and most businesses handle it in a way that creates unnecessary risk.
What Most Businesses Get Wrong
The typical approach: someone asks for bank details over email, Slack, or text. The contractor types them out and hits send. The payer copies the numbers into their banking portal. Both parties assume this is fine because it has always worked before.
It isn't fine. Every time sensitive payment information moves through an unencrypted channel, it's exposed to interception. Business email compromise (BEC) attacks specifically target this moment — they wait for a payment detail exchange and swap account numbers before either party notices. By the time the misdirected payment surfaces, the money is gone.
The other problem is storage. Payment details that arrive via email end up in an inbox — searchable, accessible to anyone with account access, and vulnerable to data breaches. That's not a payment record. It's a liability.
What to Collect — and How to Ask for It
Request Through a Secure Link
Send a Garded payment request link — your payee fills out their details directly in an encrypted form. Nothing travels over email.
Collect Only What You Need
Legal name, tax ID, bank routing, account number, and payment preference. Don't ask for more than necessary, and don't store it outside a secure system.
Store It with Access Controls
Payment details should live in a system with row-level security — accessible only to authorized users in your organization, not to everyone with email access.
Keep It Current
Payment details change. Set a reminder to re-verify annually, or any time a payee reaches out to update their information.
What you'll need from your Video Editor
| Field | Why it matters | Protection |
|---|---|---|
| Legal name | For 1099 if you pay them over $600/year | AES-256 encrypted |
| Bank routing number | ACH deposit | AES-256 encrypted |
| Checking account number | Direct deposit | AES-256 encrypted |
| Payment preference | ACH, PayPal, or Wise | AES-256 encrypted |
| Invoice trigger | After final cut delivery or approval | AES-256 encrypted |
Collect Payment Details the Right Way — Starting Today
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