In Nigeria, cash transfers to wrong bank accounts or unexpected recipients are frequentDue to a number of factors, including a lack of knowledge about the appropriate course of action, the majority of them were irreparable.Reporting the incorrect transfer to the recipient’s bank by the innocent party is the initial course of action
Henzodaily.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
Erroneous cash transfers are common and unavoidable as a result of the rapid advancements in technology, which have made it possible to transfer money digitally without physically visiting a banking hall.
Victims are expected to notify the recipient’s bank of errorneous transfer as soon as possible. Photo Credit: Contributor
Source: Getty Images
The banking rights of customers about incorrect transfers and the process for recovering funds transferred to unintended recipients have been emphasized by a law firm, Koriat & Co in this article.
Formal report to the Bank
When money is mistakenly sent to an account, the victim is expected to notify the recipient’s bank of the transfer as soon as possible. This should ideally be done in writing, outlining all pertinent information pertaining to the transaction.
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Any documentation of the transaction should be included with the letter. In order to prevent the owner of the account from withdrawing less than the amount that was mistakenly transferred to his account while the complaint is being investigated, the recipient’s bank typically places a Post No Debit (“PND”) on the account that received the funds after receiving such an application.
It is crucial to realize that the bank can restore the transferred monies to the victim without a court order if the recipient becomes aware of the Post No Debit (PND) that has been made to his account and agrees to the reversal of the funds. However, only a court order can be used to force the bank to reverse the incorrectly transmitted cash if the victim does not specifically consent to the reversal.
Order of Court
In this case, the victim of an errorneous transfer must hire an experienced attorney to submit an application to the court asking for an order authorizing the reversal.
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An affidavit outlining all the pertinent details of the transaction and including any supporting documentation (such as bank statements and/or receipts) to support the information in the affidavit are typically required to support such an application. Therefore, the Court will consider the application in question and issue the necessary ruling.
Recommended forum to seek a reversal Order
The amounts involved and the location of the transaction determine which forum is best for requesting a reversal order.
The Magistrate Court is the appropriate place to file the reversal application when the transaction takes place in Lagos State and the amount of money involved is less than N10,000,000 (ten million naira only).
Where the location of the transaction is in Abuja and the funds involved does not exceed N5,000,000 (Five Million Naira Only) the recommended Court to file an application seeking reversal of the funds will be the District Court.
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However, the petitioner must submit the application to the High Court of either state if the amount of money involved exceeds N10,000,000 (ten million naira only) in Lagos and N5,000,000 (five million naira only) in Abuja.
It is crucial to realize that the applicant may proceed with filing the case at the State High Court regardless of whether the monies exceed N10,000,000 (ten million naira only) or N5,000,000 (five million naira only) in Lagos or Abuja, respectively.
As previously mentioned, the Magistrate/District Court is only advised in cases involving smaller sums of money due to its convenience and the possibility that the application will be reviewed and approved quickly.
How to be eligible for a reversal order
An applicant seeking an order of Court for the reversal of the funds erroneously transferred must demonstrate the following:
Proof of the debit of the alleged sumEvidence that the payment was made in errorDisclosure of the recipient’s particulars and bank account detailsDocumentation of the complaint to the bank and the service of a demand notice.
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Nigerian bank increases transfer fee
Henzodaily.ng reported that changes to Ecobank Nigeria’s international transfer costs will take effect on Friday, November 1, 2024.
The bank’s acting head of payments, Adebayo Kejawa, signed a note addressed to customers headlined “Important update: revised international transfer fees,” which stated that the modifications were made in reaction to the current business environment.
A new SWIFT fee and intra-African transfers within the Ecobank network are among the updated fees.
Source: Henzodaily.ng