Wrong Bank Transfer: How to Get Your Money Back

A wrong transfer happens faster than you think: one swapped digit in the IBAN, the wrong recipient from a suggestion list, an amount with too many zeros. If you want to get your money back after a wrong transfer, you should act quickly and in the right order. This guide shows what the law provides, what your bank has to do and when the route leads through the recipient.

Key points at a glance

• Report the mistaken transfer to your bank without delay, preferably in writing or through the route provided in online banking.
• If you entered a wrong customer identifier (IBAN), there is no refund claim against the bank, but there is a claim that it tries to recover the money.
• If the bank executed the order incorrectly, you can demand immediate and full reimbursement from it.
• If the bank gets nowhere, you can turn to the recipient, who received the money without legal ground.
• Whether and how fast a reversal succeeds depends on the bank, the payment type and the recipient and cannot be generalised.

What happens legally with a mistaken transfer?

The German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch) distinguishes who caused the error. If it lies with the bank, for example in a failed or faulty execution, the payer can demand immediate and full reimbursement of the amount from the payment service provider under section 675y(1) BGB. A debited account must be restored to the state it would have been in without the faulty execution.

It is different if the error is yours. If you entered a wrong customer identifier, such as a wrong IBAN, the claims under paragraphs 1 and 2 do not apply to the extent that the bank executed the order in accordance with the identifier you gave (section 675y(5) BGB). The bank has then formally acted correctly. That does not mean it does not have to help you.

What must the bank do if the IBAN was wrong?

Under section 675y(5) BGB you can require your bank to make an effort, within its means, to recover the amount. The recipient’s bank must supply all necessary information for this. If recovery fails, your bank must give you, on written request, all available information so that you can assert a claim for reimbursement against the recipient yourself. The framework payment services contract may provide for a fee for these activities, so check your bank’s list of prices and services.

What can you do if the money arrived in the wrong place?

1. Check the transfer: where did the money go, how much was it, when was it initiated, and was it an instant transfer?
2. Call your bank and confirm the matter in writing. Ask for the transfer to be recalled and for information on which steps it takes.
3. If necessary, submit the written request under section 675y(5) BGB for all available information about the recipient.
4. Write to the recipient with these details. Stay factual, state date, amount and account details and set a reasonable deadline for repayment.
5. If the recipient does not respond, you can seek legal help or a consumer advice centre. The claim follows the rules on unjust enrichment.

The earlier you act, the greater the chance that the money is still with the recipient. This is not a legal rule but practical experience: once the amount has been passed on or spent, recovery becomes harder. How fast transfers arrive today is explained in Instant Payment: Warum Überweisungen heute in Sekunden ankommen (in German).

How can you avoid a wrong transfer in the first place?

Since 9 October 2025, banks and savings banks must carry out a recipient check under EU Regulation 2024/886 that matches name and IBAN when you make a transfer (notice of the Brandenburg tax office of 9 October 2025). If the name shown differs, do not release the transfer but ask the recipient for the details again. The details are in Empfängerprüfung bei Überweisungen: Was Verification of Payee bedeutet (in German). These habits also help:

• Copy IBANs from invoices or messages instead of typing them, and compare the last four digits.
• With new recipients, test with a small amount first where that makes sense.
• Go through amount and reference once more in the summary before sending.
• Be careful with payment requests by message that put you under time pressure.

Which deadlines matter?

For claims from unjust enrichment, the regular limitation period of three years applies (section 195 BGB). It starts at the end of the year in which the claim arose and you learned of the circumstances (section 199 BGB). In practice, though, another period counts: recovery through the bank is usually most promising in the first days. Concrete deadlines and procedures for recalls differ by bank and payment type and cannot be generalised. Ask your bank for the terms for your payment route.

What applies to fraud or a transfer to scammers?

If you were deceived and released a transfer yourself, this is often assessed differently from a typing error. In that case also contact the police and report the case to your bank. A blanket statement on whether and to what extent the bank is liable is not possible, because details matter, for example whether you authorised the payment order. Unauthorised payments are governed by different rules from transfers you released yourself.

Frequently asked questions

Can I cancel a transfer?

Whether a revocation or recall is possible depends on whether the transfer has already been executed. Scheduled transfers can often be changed until shortly before the execution date, executed payments cannot. Ask your bank until when an order can be revoked in your online banking.

Does the recipient have to give the money back?

Whoever receives money without a legal ground must in principle hand it over. This follows from the rules on unjust enrichment. Whether the recipient transfers it back voluntarily is another matter, and in a dispute the route through a court may be necessary.

Does recovery cost anything?

Under section 675y(5) BGB the framework contract may provide for a fee for the bank’s efforts. Whether and how high it is at your bank is stated in its list of prices and services.

What if the bank does nothing?

Ask the bank in writing to take the steps provided by law and record the date and the answer. If no satisfactory answer comes, you can turn to your bank’s complaints office and then to a consumer advice centre or a lawyer.

What to do now

1. Call your bank immediately and give the date, amount, recipient IBAN and reference.
2. Confirm the call in writing and ask for a recall of the transfer and an acknowledgement of receipt.
3. If needed, request in writing the information about the recipient under section 675y(5) BGB.
4. Write to the recipient with a deadline and document everything.
5. In future, use the recipient check and a second look at new IBANs.

Related guides

• Geld, Konto und Kredit: Der Überblick für junge Erwachsene (in German) (hub)
• Empfängerprüfung bei Überweisungen: Was Verification of Payee bedeutet (in German)
• Instant Payment: Warum Überweisungen heute in Sekunden ankommen (in German)
• Kontaktlos bezahlen: Was bei Kartenverlust und Sperre zählt (in German)
• Kontogebühren steigen: Was du als Kunde tun kannst (in German)

Sources: Section 675y BGB, liability of the payment service provider for non-execution, defective or late execution (in German); Section 675z BGB, other claims (in German); Brandenburg tax office, notice on the recipient check (Verification of Payee) under Regulation (EU) 2024/886 (in German), 9 October 2025.

Last updated: November 2026. This guide is general information, not individual advice.