What if you make a wrong money transfer?

Adhil ShettyBankBazaar.comAroon decided to surprise his sister on her 20th birthday. He transferred Rs.25,000 online to her account. As her name was already added as a payee in his account, he didn’t bother to check if the account number for that payee was correct. Two days later, he realized that his sister had not received the amount he had transferred.Sensing something was wrong, he immediately checked his account statement. Sure enough, the amount had been debited from his account. On cross checking, he realized that the account number he had saved against his sister’s name as payee was wrong. But how did a transaction like this happen in the first place when the payee name and account number didn’t match? What are the steps to be taken if you happen to make a wrong transaction?Well, reversing a transaction is not as easy as you think.Ways in which a wrong transaction happens

Today, money transactions online have become par for the course – be it settling of utility bills, sending money to parents or friends, paying rent to the landlord, or a plethora of such transactions. However, a slip at any point can be disastrous financially. Apart from wrong account numbers, sometimes even specifying the wrong IFSC code can divert your money into someone else’s account. This is because, for online transactions, once you punch in the details and submit the transaction for processing online, the amount gets transferred electronically through NEFT. The RBI and banks have clearly informed all account holders that in an electronic fund transfer, the transaction is carried out on the basis of the account number only and the beneficiary’s name has little relevance here.This is why it is so easy to go wrong in NEFT transactions than in direct banking transactions, where a payment is reversed on the spot if there is a mismatch between payee name and account number.What can you do in such cases?

If you happened to enter a wrong account number and if the number you entered does not exist, the amount will automatically reversed to your account. However, if the account number (someone else’s account) you typed in incorrectly does exist, the transaction will take place and it cannot be reversed.In such cases, approach your bank with a written request and convince them that you made a mistake. If the unintended beneficiary also holds an account with the same branch, the bank may help you by contacting him and requesting for returning the amount.But, if the unintended receiver is a customer of some other branch or bank, the recovery process is tedious. The bank can only help with the contact details of the accidental beneficiary’s bank or branch, or help you to connect with the branch manager of the other bank.Step-by-step guide for senders

Erroneous transactions while sending or receiving funds online can happen due to manual or technical error.  For funds that have been transferred incorrectly due to any bank error or technical glitch, the onus of correcting the error lies with the bank. In case of a manual error whereby a sender enters wrong details, banks can only help in reversing the fund.Here is a four-step guide to follow if you happen to make a wrong money transfer to an unknown beneficiary.• Inform the bank: If you have made a wrong transfer, inform your bank immediately. If the funds have still not been transferred to the beneficiary’s account, your bank can block the fund transfer.

• Meet the branch manager in person: If the funds have already reached the wrong beneficiary of a different branch or bank, only the bank where the beneficiary holds the account can sort it out. You will have to meet the operations manager or the branch manager of your branch and initiate a written or e-mail request to the branch concerned to take necessary actions for reversing the amount.

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Adhil Shetty

CEO|BankBazaar.com

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• Raising complaint: If your branch or the branch concerned is not helping you to sort this out after repeated requests or visits, you can raise a complaint against the bank with their higher authorities.

• Legal call: If the wrong beneficiary does not allow for a reversal of funds, the bank can take a legal call on the account holder, or automatically reverse the fund from his account. Legal action can also be initiated from your end, if you know the details of the wrong beneficiary. The legal option is to be used only as a last resort.Erroneous online money transfers can happen due to human or technical errors. When you are adding a payee to your account, banks normally ask to type the recipient’s account number twice. So if you happen to commit a mistake while typing, the mismatch between the two entries will not allow you to proceed further. If you are transferring a large sum of money online, do a ‘test’ transfer with a small amount prior to the actual transfer and check with the beneficiary if the amount has been received.