December Release Notes
Product Update: Enhanced Transparency, Smarter Address Handling & IRS Compliance Prep
We’ve rolled out several key updates to improve clarity in vendor onboarding, safeguard remittance data integrity, and prepare your organization for future IRS changes. These updates address real-world issues flagged by users like you, and are designed to streamline workflows across vendor management, fraud review, and compliance processes.
In-App Enhancements
Improved Status Clarity in the Onboarding Tracker
New Label:
"Registration Submitted - Currently Under Review"
What’s Changed:
Previously, registrations under Fraud Ops Review displayed as "Registration Submitted - Pending Payee Response." This caused confusion, leading users to believe the payee needed to take action, when in fact PaymentWorks was awaiting a response from the payee after internal fraud review.
Why This Matters:
This update ensures accurate communication of the registration status, especially in fraud-related workflows. Whether you're a procurement officer, AP specialist, or vendor onboarding coordinator, you'll now have better visibility into the true status of registrations—cutting down on back-and-forth and unnecessary follow-ups.
Remit Address Uniqueness Enhancement
What Was Happening:
In cases where a payee was connected to multiple payers—some that collect contact info with remittance addresses and others that don’t—for payees connecting with an existing remittance address to a payer not collecting contact information, the contact information on that address would be removed, potentially impacting payers previously connected.
New Behavior:
Remittance addresses are now assessed separately by PaymentWorks based on whether or not they include contact information. This distinction ensures that changes made by the payee no longer affect unrelated payer records.
What This Fixes for You:
- No more unexpected removal of valid remittance address contact information
- Maintains integrity across payer-payee connections
- Reduces support tickets related to lost remit details
This change is especially critical for large institutions (e.g., universities, government agencies) with complex payee relationships across departments or agencies.
Bug Fixes
W-9 Auto-Generation Logic Corrected
Resolved Issue:
W-9 forms were incorrectly triggered based on a vendor’s Primary Address instead of their Tax Country.
New Behavior:
- W-9 auto-generation now activates only when the Tax Country is the United States
- The W-9 checkbox will appear only when applicable
- Selections will now save reliably
Why It Matters:
This fix ensures IRS forms are generated only when required, reducing form errors and helping your team stay audit-ready with minimal manual intervention.
Early Adopter Preview - Upgraded In-App Experience for Approvers
What’s Changing:
We’re simplifying the Vendor Master Updates experience for approvers by merging multiple tabs into a single, streamlined view—making it easier than ever to manage vendor data at a glance.
- Our primary approver review tabs, New Vendors and Updates, from the Vendor Master Updates tile combined into one unified screen
- “Requests” rebranded as Profiles to better reflect the ongoing relationship and data management lifecycle
Connections will be organized into:
- Profile Manager – for reviewing payee-submitted profiles and data changes (including updates, partial/edit requests)
- Onboarding Tracker – for monitoring progress and statuses of active profiles
Why It Matters:
This intuitive redesign gives early adopters greater visibility and control over vendor data without needing to toggle between tabs—reducing clicks, confusion, and time spent navigating. Feedback from early adopters will help shape the broader rollout in the future.
IRS W-9 Form Changes (Effective February 2026)
What You Should Know:
The IRS has announced upcoming changes to the W-9 form, effective February 2026. PaymentWorks is actively updating our platform to remain compliant with these changes.
What it Changing?
- New digital asset broker certification
- Clarified TIN requirements for Sole Proprietors
- Clarified Rules for Disregarded Entities
What to Expect:
- Revised W-9 form content
- Updated validation rules
- Workflow enhancements to reflect IRS guidelines
Why This Matters:
These changes ensure your organization remains in full compliance with IRS regulations, avoiding potential fines or audit issues. We’ll provide full documentation and training resources as we approach the rollout date.
Note that these are based on the latest IRS drafts and could change. Please check the IRS website for the latest information.