Order No. 21105 of 2024: Clarifications on the Liability of Banking Intermediaries in Wire Transfers

On July 29, 2024, the Court of Cassation issued order no. 21105, addressing a highly relevant issue in the field of banking operations: the liability of intermediaries in cases of wire transfers executed with an incorrect IBAN code. This ruling falls within the regulatory framework established by Legislative Decree No. 11 of 2010, implementing European Directive 2007/64/EC, emphasizing the importance of the IBAN as a filter for determining liability in payment transactions.

The Role of IBAN in Payment Transactions

The Court clarified that the IBAN, being a unique identifying code, plays a crucial role in determining the correct attribution of liability. In particular, Article 25 of Legislative Decree No. 11 of 2010 states that:

NOTIONS, CHARACTERISTICS, DISTINCTIONS - OBLIGATIONS OF THE BANK Payment transactions carried out using electronic instruments - Wire transfer - Execution in accordance with the unique identifying code (IBAN) - Liability of the banking intermediary - Exclusion - Irrelevance of additional information provided by the payer. Regarding payments executed via wire transfer, Article 25 of Legislative Decree No. 11 of 2010 - implementing Directive 2007/64/EC related to payment services in the internal market - assigns the IBAN the role of a filter to determine cases in which the responsibility for non-execution or incorrect execution is attributable to the user and those in which it is necessary to ascertain which of the intermediaries involved in the process caused the malfunction of the operation. Consequently, if a payment is executed according to an IBAN incorrectly indicated by the payer, there is no liability for the intermediaries who participated in the operation (although they are obliged to take action and collaborate for the recovery of the amounts), regardless of whether the order contains additional information to identify the beneficiary and/or their credit account.

The Implications of the Ruling

This ruling has significant implications for users of banking services, as it clarifies that liability in the event of a wire transfer cannot be automatically attributed to banking intermediaries if the payment was made based on an incorrect IBAN provided by the payer. It is therefore essential that anyone making a wire transfer carefully verifies the IBAN code before proceeding with the transaction.

  • Always verify the provided IBAN code.
  • In case of error, the liability lies with the payer.
  • Intermediaries must cooperate in recovering the amounts but are not responsible for errors made by the payer.

Conclusions

In conclusion, order no. 21105 of 2024 provides an important clarification on the liability of banks in cases of errors in wire transfers. The case law reiterates the necessity for correct use of the IBAN and underscores the importance of individual responsibility in banking operations. Users must be aware that correctly indicating the IBAN code is essential to avoid misunderstandings and issues in managing payments.

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