A screenshot, SMS, WhatsApp message or verbal claim can say that a payment was made. The safest confirmation is the transaction record in the account that is supposed to receive the money.
If someone says they have paid you, check your own bank or payment account before releasing goods, providing a service, handing over an item or treating the debt as settled.
Do not let urgency, a convincing screenshot, a familiar logo or a message that looks like a bank alert replace the actual transaction record.
Use this process whenever someone says they have paid you, especially when the payment is urgent or the evidence comes from the payer.
Open the bank or payment account that is supposed to receive the money.
Look for a completed incoming transaction that matches the payment you are expecting.
Make sure the amount actually received matches what you were expecting.
Make sure the money is actually completed or available, not merely pending or reversed.
A bank or payment-service notification can support your check, but the authoritative record should still be your own account.
Preserve useful records if the payment is missing, disputed or suspicious.
The same verification habit works whether you are selling online, running a shop, providing a service or receiving a personal transfer.
A customer sends a screenshot showing a ₦100,000 transfer and asks you to release a phone immediately. You check your own bank account and there is no matching ₦100,000 transaction. The screenshot is not proof of receipt. You do not release the phone until the payment is actually confirmed in your own account.
A customer shows you a transfer notification, but your account shows the transaction as pending or does not show a completed credit. Do not treat the customer's notification as final proof. Follow the status in your own account or contact your bank through its official channel.
Someone says they paid ₦75,000, but your account shows ₦7,500. Do not assume the remaining amount will arrive later because the payer says there was a banking problem. Treat the amount actually recorded in your account as the amount received and resolve the difference before completing the transaction.
You receive a message that looks like a bank alert, but the sender is not your bank's official notification channel. Do not rely on the message. Open your banking app yourself and check the transaction history.
1. Your account: Did you check the bank or payment account that should receive the money?
2. Transaction: Is there an actual incoming transaction?
3. Amount: Does the amount match what you expected?
4. Status: Is the transaction completed or available rather than pending, failed or reversed?
5. Evidence: If there is a dispute, have you kept the relevant messages, screenshots and transaction records?
If your own account does not show the payment, stop and verify through your bank or payment provider's official channel. The pressure to release something quickly is not proof that the money arrived.
VERIFY BEFORE YOU TRUST.