September 17, 2018 / Law /

Amended regulations of the Act on payment services aimed at facilitation of recovery of money, which were mistakenly transferred into an incorrect bank account, shall be effective already on 11th August, 2018.

In pursuance with newly added regulations, the Bank client or SKOK, which shall carry out the money transfer into an incorrect bank account will be able to report this fact to his/her bank or SKOK, this entity will have 3 days for notifying the money transfer recipient of:

  • report coming in of mistaken transfer,
  • possibility of anonymous and unpaid return of financial means to specially opened to this end a technical account without interest,
  • obligation to give data to transfer recipient, transfer payer after a lapse of 30 days from the day of reporting a mistaken transfer – in case of lack of recipient’s return of illegally received money to the payer.

If a bank or SKOK do not run a transfer recipient’s payment account, it is obliged within 3 days to request the transfer recipient’s bank/SKOK to undertake actions as above.

Legal tenders are transferred from a technical account by the bank/SKOK within a single working day into their rightful owner’s account.

New regulations are designed to facilitate recovery of legal tenders transferred within the frameworks of mistaken remittance before courts. Until now clients, who carried out the bank transfer mistakenly into an incorrect bank account number met time and time again with a refusal of receiving personal data identifying the recipient due to bank secret protection, after amendment to rules, giving data of incorrect money transfer’s recipient shall be the bank’s obligation.

At the same time, money transfer recipient’s data obtained by the payer may be solely used in order to apply for a refund of illegally acquired financial means, their use for other purpose shall be deemed the offence punishable by a fine to the amount of 30.000,00 zlotys.

Even though new regulations provide that previous regulations shall hold applicable to information of erroneous remittances reported by payers before the day of entry into force of new rules, the new rules shall not restrict entitlements by the bank client to renewed report of occurrence, which took place before amended regulations entered into force, then new rules shall be applicable to such report.