AIBU to ask how I check the money politely?

[Scienceseeker]

Lady coming to collect something for over £200. She’s paying cash.

How do I say politely I want to check the money before handing the item over?

Just check it. You’re the one who’ll be out of pocket if they aren’t truthful people & to be honest I’d expect someone to check the money if I was paying that amount for anything. Shops do this all the time, it is normal, you are not being rude or making a judgment but you do not know the person enough to trust them implicitly.

Bizarrely I’ve had the opposite, money in an envelope which I didn’t check until after they left. They had paid £10 extra! I messaged them to say thanks for the money but you’ve paid too much. They replied saying, don’t worry, it’s a nice item, treat yourself to a bottle of wine.

How lovely some people are. But I guess you probably should politely check.

For that much money I would definitely check and not be apologetic about it.

Oddly though, unlike other posters, I've only had honesty, to the point that sometimes if I'm going out I'll leave the item outside my door and ask the buyer to post through the letterbox. I've done this probably around 20 times and never yet had anyone not pay. I would do this for anything worth more than £15-20 though.

Check the money, as in to ensure it's all there, or to ensure they aren't counterfeit notes?