Dual authorisation and the approver who's away: how to get a business payment through today

What do you do at 9am when the second approver is away?

First, check whether they’re really out of reach. “On a plane” is a different problem from “in a meeting”. Send one message: “Can you approve a payment from your phone or token in the next hour? Yes or no, and what time is it where you are?”

If yes, the problem is solved with a login and a tap. If no, you’re in go / no-go territory, and the honest answer depends on your bank’s rules, which you can check in about five minutes.

How does dual authorisation actually work?

Business accounts don’t all work the same way, but the pattern is common. The bank records who can create a payment and who can approve it, and how many approvals each payment needs.

At CommBank, per its authorisation rules page, each account’s method of operation sets whether one authoriser, two or more, or a custom set of rules by amount applies. At NAB, the payment authorisation rules are set up by an Administrator and can require two or more people.

Two things matter on a morning like this:

• Whether a lower amount needs fewer approvers. Custom rules sometimes let smaller payments through on one approval.
• Whether the away person’s approval can happen remotely. Both banks offer mobile approval, though with limits: NAB says payments that need transaction-signing codes can’t be authorised in its mobile app.

Can you change the approvers today?

Rarely. This is the part that catches people out.

Changing who can approve is a security-sensitive change, so banks put friction in it. On CommBank’s page, a change is submitted as a request that “will need to be approved by an existing Authoriser”. If new authorisers need to be identified, the bank requires a printed, signed form with handwritten signatures (digital signatures aren’t accepted), and says it will be in touch within 5 business days of receiving it.

NAB’s route has an Administrator start a facility amendment, after which a PDF is emailed to the nominated business contact for the signatories to sign and return. NAB says to contact its servicing team if the email hasn’t arrived within 8 hours.

So the rule of thumb is: a change you start this morning is not a change you can use this afternoon. Start it anyway, because you’ll want it next time, but plan today around what already works. Your own bank’s process may differ, so ask when you ring.

What can move before lunchtime?

Work down this list and stop at the first yes:

1. Remote approval. The away approver logs in from their phone or token. Fastest, and worth ten minutes of chasing.
2. Payment under a single-approver limit. If your rules let part of the amount go on one approval, send that part now.
3. Split the payment. Send what you can, and agree the balance with the payee for later today or tomorrow morning.
4. A different payment route. Some businesses have a second account, or a card, with different operating rules. Only use something your account authority already allows.
5. Ask the payee for time. Ring before 11am Sydney time with a specific time the money will land. A firm time beats a vague apology.

What not to do is use the other director’s login. Banks’ terms generally expect each user to keep their credentials to themselves, and you’re better off with a late payment than a payment you can’t properly explain.

A worked example

Picture a two-director plumbing supplier. A bulk stock offer expires at noon, the supplier wants $60k, and the account needs two approvers. One director is flying back from Perth until mid-afternoon Sydney time.

• 8:30am. The director on the ground texts the other: “Can you approve from your phone before boarding?” No, the flight leaves in ten minutes.
• 8:45am. The account’s rules show one approval is enough up to $20k. They send $20k to the supplier as a good-faith deposit and ring to say the balance will be paid by 4pm.
• 9:30am. They start the authority change with the bank so a third person can approve in future. It won’t be live today.
• Afternoon. The director lands, approves the balance from the car, and the offer holds.

An example only, and it worked because they asked for time with a firm number attached, not because anything was rushed through.

What do you say to the payee?

Keep it short and specific, and say it before the deadline rather than after. Something like: “Our payment needs two approvers and one is travelling. I can send $20k now and the balance by 4pm Sydney time today. Can you hold the order until then?”

That sentence does three jobs. It tells them the money is real, gives them a time they can plan around, and offers something now. Suppliers, landlords and sellers deal with late payments all the time, and what frustrates them is silence. If the payee insists on the full amount at once, ask what the actual cut-off is, which is often later than the first thing they said.

Keep a written trail: a short email afterwards confirming the time you agreed. If the payment details are new or have changed, confirm them by phone on a number you already had, since urgent payments are exactly when invoice-redirection scams land.

Why does the bank make this so hard?

Because the two-approver rule exists to stop one person, or one compromised login, moving a large amount alone. The same friction that stops a fraudster stops you at 9am. That’s why banks won’t shortcut an authority change on a phone call, and why the sensible fix is to plan for it rather than fight it.

It also explains why the rules are worth setting properly. A business that requires two approvers for every payment, however small, creates this problem daily. A business with sensible thresholds, three or more approvers and tested mobile approval rarely meets it at all.

What if the away person is the only one who knows the details?

Sometimes the approver isn’t the real problem; the knowledge is. The other director has the supplier’s invoice, the deposit terms or the passwords to the accounting file. Before they board, or the moment you reach them, ask for three things: the invoice or contract, the payee’s confirmed bank details, and a yes or no on whether they’re happy for you to go ahead. A short message in writing covers you both.

Where does a same-day loan fit in?

If the problem is also the money, the approver issue and the funding issue run on different clocks. A smaller unsecured amount can be enquired about by about 11am Sydney time, or 10am if property is involved, and the loan documents need every required signer free by early afternoon. Our signers by lunchtime checklist covers who that is, and it’s worth checking ASIC’s register so the directors listed are the ones you expect.

The trap is solving one and forgetting the other: loan paid at 3pm, payment still waiting on an approver who’s asleep. Line up both before you press go. The one-sitting document pack and payee details checklist help with the paperwork side.

Check whether today is realistic →

What should you fix this week, while nothing is due?

Five minutes on a quiet day saves a bad morning:

• Write down your account’s rules. How many approvers, and any amount thresholds.
• Make sure at least three people can approve, or that your authority covers someone who is always in the country and reachable.
• Set up each approver’s mobile app or token, and test it while no payment is waiting. CommBank, for example, allows one registered mobile device per user.
• Ask your bank how long an authority change takes, and what signing method it accepts.
• Check the directors listed with ASIC match who actually runs the business.
• Run our same-day readiness check to see what else would hold you up. The what kills same-day list has the usual suspects.

Money, approvers and a clock: let’s work through it

Plenty of owners find this out the hard way, mid-morning, with a payee waiting. If you’re in that spot, or you’d rather get ahead of it, we can help you see what’s realistic before lunchtime.

The enquiry takes about 60 seconds, and there’s no credit check when you enquire, so asking doesn’t touch your credit file. We don’t send your details to a pile of lenders, so your phone won’t light up with strangers. A real person reads your situation and calls you with a straight go / no-go.

Please fill the form in accurately: the amount, the deadline, who has to sign and where they are. It helps us match the right option first time.

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