From July, It Will Be Easier to Get Back Money Sent by Mistake

Implementation of the Forecast 'Mistaken Remittance Refund Support System' Starting July 6

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jin-ho] #. Office worker A recently tried to send wedding congratulatory money to a friend through the simple remittance function of a bank app but mistakenly sent the money to someone else. The error occurred because A entered the wrong last digit of the account number on the smartphone keypad. Although A requested the bank to return the money, the recipient refused, and A ultimately had to proceed with a lawsuit.

From the second half of the year, it will become easier to recover money mistakenly sent to the wrong person. Not only bank account transfers but also mistaken transfers made through popular simple remittance services like Toss or KakaoPay can be recovered.

According to the financial sector on the 19th, starting July 6, the "Mistaken Remittance Return Support System," where the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) retrieves mistakenly sent money on behalf of the sender, will be fully implemented.

Under the current system, if the financial institution or recipient's account number is incorrectly recorded or entered, the sender must obtain the recipient's consent to recover the money, but refusals often occur. To recover the money, a lawsuit typically requiring more than six months and about 600,000 KRW (based on a remittance amount of 1 million KRW) in costs had to be filed.

According to KDIC, in 2019, there were approximately 158,000 cases (320.3 billion KRW) of mistaken remittances. Among these, about 82,000 cases (154 billion KRW) have yet to be returned.

However, from July 6 onward, if the recipient refuses to return the money, the KDIC's Mistaken Remittance Return Support System will make it easier to recover the funds. The system applies to all financial institutions with remittance functions and electronic financial service providers offering simple remittance. This includes banks, financial investment firms, insurance companies, specialized credit finance companies, savings banks, credit unions, Saemaeul Geumgo, NongHyup, Suhyup, the Forestry Cooperative, post offices, as well as prepaid electronic payment methods like Toss and KakaoPay.

However, remittances made via contact information or between social network service (SNS) members, where KDIC cannot verify the recipient's name and resident registration number, may have limited return support.

When a mistaken remittance return application is submitted, KDIC first purchases the sender's unjust enrichment claim. Then, it obtains recipient information from financial institutions, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and telecommunications companies to notify the recipient of the mistaken remittance and the return account via phone and mail, encouraging voluntary return. If voluntary return does not occur, KDIC applies for a payment order from the court to recover the money. KDIC returns the remaining amount to the sender after deducting postage, borrowing interest, and payment order costs from the returned amount.

With the introduction of this system, it is expected that the recovery period will shorten from the existing six months to an average of within two months. However, if during the return support process it is found that the remittance was part of normal transactions, loans, or repayments, the return procedure will be halted.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.