Who Can Authorise Payments From Your Business Account? Setting and Updating Signatories Safely

Knowing exactly who your business bank account signatories are, and what each person may approve, stops payments going out on one person’s say-so. It also prevents the opposite problem: a bill that cannot be paid because the only authorised person is away. This guide explains how to set the list, split duties sensibly, and update it quickly when people change roles or leave.

Bank rules differ between providers and account types, so treat every step here as a question to confirm with your own bank. What follows is a practical internal routine that sits alongside your bank’s mandate, not a replacement for it.

What Business Bank Account Signatories Actually Control

A signatory is a person the bank recognises as authorised to act on the account, within the limits set in the mandate. Depending on how the mandate is written, that could include signing cheques, approving transfers, setting up payees, or changing contact details. Other staff may prepare payments without ever being signatories.

Keep two lists and make sure they agree. The first is the bank’s own record of your business bank account signatories. The second is your internal list, which also notes each person’s internal spending limit and duties. If the lists drift apart, the bank’s version is the one that will be followed at the counter or online, so reconcile them regularly.

Who May Pay What: Setting Sensible Internal Limits

Start from tasks, not job titles. List the payments your business makes in a normal month: supplier invoices, rent, wages, taxes, refunds, and small day-to-day purchases. Next to each, note who prepares it, who approves it, and who releases it. In a small team one person may prepare and release routine items, but larger or unusual payments should always involve a second person.

Set internal approval limits in plain figures that you choose for your business. For example, a fictional small retailer might let a shift leader release repeat supplier orders up to a modest internal limit, while anything above it needs the owner plus one other signatory. Label your own figures clearly as internal policy, review them when prices or staffing change, and confirm with your bank how those limits can be reflected, if at all, in the mandate itself.

Strong separation also reduces fraud risk. Read our guide to preventing business payment fraud for the checks that pair well with signatory limits, such as verifying bank-detail changes by phone.

Dual Approval for Larger Payments

Dual approval means two authorised people must agree before money leaves the account. Use it for larger payments, first payments to a new supplier, and any change to a regular payee’s bank details. One person creates the payment and attaches the invoice; a second person checks the details against the invoice and releases it.

Make the second check real, not a rubber stamp. The approver should confirm the payee name, account details, amount, and reference against the source document. If anything does not match, the payment waits. This habit is the single strongest protection your business bank account signatories arrangement can give you, because it breaks the chain for both honest errors and deliberate misuse.

Updating the List When Someone Leaves or Changes Role

Update your business bank account signatories the same week someone leaves, moves role, or no longer needs access. Do not wait for a quiet month. A leaver who remains on a mandate may still be recognised by the bank, and old online banking access can linger if nobody removes it.

Use a short leaver checklist. Remove the person from the bank mandate using the bank’s required process, revoke online and mobile banking access, collect cards and cheque books, and change any shared office codes they knew.

Keeping a Register of Business Bank Account Signatories You Can Trust

Keep one register, owned by one named person, where every change is logged. For each entry, record the person’s name, role, what they may approve, their internal limit, the date they were added, and the date bank confirmation was received. When someone is removed, record that date too, rather than deleting the line.

Questions to Confirm With Your Own Bank

Because mandates vary, keep a standing list of questions for your provider. Can limits differ per signatory? Can two signatures be required above a set amount? What happens to pending payments when a signatory is removed? How quickly does a removal take effect, and how will the bank confirm it?

If you open a new account, use our business bank account documents checklist and the SBA guide to managing business finances.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who should be a signatory on a small business account?

For business bank account signatories, choose a small number of trusted people who genuinely need to move money, such as the owner and one senior deputy. Everyone else can prepare payments or view information without holding release authority on the account.

How many signatories should a business have?

Enough to cover holidays and illness without delaying essential payments, but no more. Many small businesses manage well with two or three, provided larger payments need two of them to approve together.

How quickly should I remove a leaver from the mandate?

Start the removal the same week the person leaves, and revoke online access immediately. Then obtain written confirmation from your bank that the mandate has been updated, and file it in your signatory register.

Can internal limits differ from the bank mandate?

Yes. Your internal limits are your own policy about who may approve what, and they can be stricter than the mandate. Confirm with your bank which limits it can enforce in its systems and which rely on your internal checks.

Conclusion: A Short List, Clearly Understood

A current list of business bank account signatories, sensible internal limits, dual approval for larger payments, and same-week updates for leavers will protect your account without slowing the business down. If you want a second pair of eyes on your payment routines, the BCC Financial team can help you review them and build a clearer checklist.

This article is general educational information only and is not personal financial advice. Bank mandate rules vary by provider and account, so confirm every detail with your own bank before relying on it.