Is money arriving correctly?

New transfer rules unsettle customers

The financial institutions speak of "minimal difficulties" in the course of the introduction of real-time transfers.(Bild: Andrey Popov - stock.adobe.com)

According to the Vienna Chamber of Labor, new regulations for money transfers are causing "uncertainty and confusion" among bank customers. This is due to the new rules in the wake of the introduction of real-time transfers. The banks need to "provide more information", they say. 

Since October 9, banks have been required to offer real-time transfers within the eurozone. This is a bank transfer where the money arrives immediately - in seconds, around the clock, even at weekends or on public holidays.

As part of the introduction, there are new rules to prevent incorrect transfers or cases of fraud: as a security precaution, the banks check whether the IBAN and the recipient's name match before carrying out the transfer.

A special traffic light system applies here: 

• Green light: Both parameters (IBAN and recipient name) match.

• Yellow light: If there are slight discrepancies, such as typing errors in the recipient's name: Here the system issues a message with a suggestion for the correct name.

• Red light: There are major discrepancies between the IBAN and the recipient's name. The customer receives a warning, but can ignore it and carry out the transfer anyway. However, the customer then assumes liability in the event of an incorrect transfer.

However, these new rules, which have been in force for a good two weeks, are now causing "uncertainty and confusion" among bank customers, as Gabriele Zgubic-Engleder, Head of the Consumer Protection Department at the Vienna Chamber of Labor, explained on Friday on Ö1's "Morgenjournal".

The messages issued are new for consumers. They can look like this, among other things: 

With a yellow light, there is a suggestion for the recipient's name.(Bild: Raiffeisen Niederösterreich-Wien)

Red light if there are major discrepancies between the IBAN and the recipient's name.(Bild: Raiffeisen Niederösterreich-Wien)

Aid organizations concerned
According to Zgubic-Engleder, the new requirements are to be welcomed in principle. However, she believes that the banks have a duty - they must "provide more information, more clarification". She advises consumers to check all data in the event of a warning and to call the recipient if necessary. Companies, such as craft businesses, should check whether their name on the invoice matches the account name on file with the bank. 

In the middle of the week, aid organizations had also expressed concern that the new rules could affect charitable organizations "in the crucial donation months before Christmas". Ruth Williams from the Fundraising Association Austria also explained on Ö1's "Morgenjournal" that there are problems in particular with organizations with long names, with umlauts in the name or where the organization name is presented in a different language.

Banking spokesperson sees only "minimal teething problems"
 Franz Rudorfer, Managing Director of the Federal Banking and Insurance Division of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, spoke on Ö1 of "minimal teething problems". They are "constantly working on it and making adjustments". Raiffeisen Niederösterreich-Wien has also received few inquiries from private customers - "only a few isolated cases". Only in the case of corporate customers, who need a special communication standard to use the real-time transfer, could there be restrictions for recipients whose credit institutions do not yet use it.

The Financial Market Authority made similar comments. No "significant difficulties" have been observed. So far, no complaints have been received, which the supervisory authority interprets as meaning "that any problems between the bank and customers have been resolved amicably".