The significance of the first whistleblower payment from the Securities and Exchange Commission wasn’t the size of the payout — a paltry $50,000 — but rather the clear message the agency added to the memo line on the check: There’s much more to come.

The SEC announced Wednesday it made the first payout from its new whistleblower program under the Dodd-Frank Act to an unidentified person who helped stop a multimillion-dollar financial fraud. The law prohibits the agency from releasing details that could identify the claimant.