diff --git a/pkg/ueps/reader.go b/pkg/ueps/reader.go
index f29b4f7..dfdf3cd 100644
--- a/pkg/ueps/reader.go
+++ b/pkg/ueps/reader.go
@@ -44,11 +44,11 @@ func ReadAndVerify(reader *bufio.Reader, sharedSecret []byte) (*ParsedPacket, er
 		if tagByte == TagPayload {
 			// Payload is length-prefixless; caller frames the stream.
 			// HMAC covers signedData (header TLVs) + raw payload bytes, not the 0xFF tag.
-			payloadBytes, err := io.ReadAll(reader)
+			var err error
+			payload, err = io.ReadAll(reader)
 			if err != nil {
 				return nil, err
 			}
-			payload = payloadBytes
 			break
 		}