Verify a Standard Bank statement PDF
A client has sent you a stamped Standard Bank statement. Check whether the PDF shows signs of editing the eye cannot see before you accept it. The same checks run on every PDF, whichever bank issued it.
How Standard Bank clients get and send a statement
In the Standard Bank Banking App, a client selects the account, taps the ellipsis and chooses “6-Month statement”. That gives a stamped statement, which they can download to the device or send as an email straight from the app. “Previous statements” gives the monthly history. Online Banking offers statements too. Standard Bank’s help centre covers this under bank account documents.
The same part of the app gives confirmation letters. If you need proof that an account exists and belongs to the client, a confirmation letter is the document for that. A statement is for the transactions.
Because the app can email the statement directly, ask the client to send it that way, or to forward the downloaded PDF unchanged. A printout that has been scanned or photographed is a weaker file.
If the Standard Bank PDF asks for a password
- Standard Bank does not publish a statement password rule on a page we could verify, so we do not state one. If the statement came by email, the covering email or Standard Bank’s help centre explains the password.
- A PDF that needs a password to open cannot be checked here. One that opens without a password is checked normally, even if editing or printing is locked.
- Do not ask the client to remove the password for you. Ask for a fresh 6-month stamped statement from the Banking App that opens without a password.
- Never ask for Banking App or Online Banking login details, or a one-time PIN.
Why six months of transactions cannot be checked by eye
A six-month statement can run to many pages and hundreds of lines. Nobody reads each one against the next, and an edit does not need to be large to change the picture: one salary credit, one closing balance.
On screen, an edited PDF looks like any other. There is no visible trace of the change for a reader to find. A file check looks at the PDF itself and shows signs of editing the eye cannot see, in seconds, however long the statement is.
Standard Bank’s stamped statement and a file check
Standard Bank makes stamped statements and confirmation letters available in the Banking App. The stamp shows the statement was produced through the bank’s own channel for an official purpose.
We found no public Standard Bank service that lets a third party look up a statement. A stamp tells you where a statement is meant to come from. It does not tell you whether the PDF you received was changed after it was downloaded. A file check looks at that.
Atomara is not connected to Standard Bank and cannot see its records, so a clean result is not a confirmation from the bank. If the report shows signs of editing, ask the client to send the statement again straight from the app, or contact Standard Bank.
Check the PDF you were sent
Upload the file exactly as you received it. The result appears on screen in seconds, and your first 3 checks are free once you confirm your email.
Sent a proof of payment rather than a statement? Check it before you release the goods.
Standard Bank statements: questions
What is the Standard Bank “6-Month statement”?
It is a stamped statement covering six months, which a client gets in the Banking App by selecting the account and tapping the ellipsis. They can download it or send it as an email from the app.
Should I ask for a statement or a confirmation letter?
A confirmation letter confirms the account. A statement shows the transactions. If you are assessing income or the source of funds, you need the statement. Both are available in the Banking App.
The statement is stamped. Why check it?
The stamp shows the statement came from Standard Bank’s channel. It does not show whether the PDF was changed after it left the app. A file check shows signs of editing the eye cannot see.
Is the check different for Standard Bank statements?
No. Atomara holds no bank templates and is not connected to Standard Bank. The same checks run on every PDF, whichever bank issued it.
Who checks these statements
Other banks
Atomara is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Standard Bank. The name Standard Bank is used only to describe the format of the document.