Send a dollar before you send the rest

Test a new account with one dollar before trusting it with a large sum.

The numbers have been read back to him and the invoice adds up. The sum is still large enough that pressing Send feels like stepping off a curb.

So do not send $1,850. Send one dollar, and ask whether it arrived.

Key points

• Send a small test payment before a large one, never after
• Pay somebody already saved, without going through the details again
• Say what a test payment proves, and what it does not

What to remember

• A test payment costs a dollar and proves the account is right.
• Ten minutes slower, and immeasurably safer.

Try this

Next time you owe a large sum, send a dollar first and call to ask whether it landed. Nobody minds being asked.

Practice: Send a dollar before you send the rest. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.

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