Short answer
Call your bank’s fraud line now, on the number on your card or in its app, and ask it to stop or recall the payment: with instant transfers, minutes count. What happens next depends on one word. If the payment was unauthorised — someone used your card or login without you — EU rules (PSD2) oblige the bank to refund it, normally by the end of the next business day, unless you acted fraudulently or with gross negligence. If you were tricked into sending it yourself, an authorised push payment, there is no general EU refund right yet, but since 9 October 2025 euro-area banks must run Verification of Payee, a name check on the IBAN that warns you before you pay. In the UK, banks must reimburse most APP-fraud victims up to £85,000.
The first hour
- Call the bank’s fraud line using the number on your card or in the official app, never a number from a message. Ask it to stop the payment or request a recall from the receiving bank.
- Block what is exposed: card, online banking access, the banking app on a lost phone.
- Report to the police and give the bank the reference; in the UK, Report Fraud (reportfraud.police.uk, 0300 123 2040). See where to report, country by country.
- Keep the evidence: the chat, the account details you were given, transfer receipts, phone numbers and dates.
- Send nothing more. “Fees”, “taxes” or a “release charge” to get your money back are the second stage of the same scam.
Authorised or unauthorised: the word that decides your refund
| Situation | EU | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Someone paid with your card or login without you (unauthorised) | Refund by the end of the next business day; you may bear up to €50, or everything if you acted fraudulently or with gross negligence; tell the bank within 13 months | Refund by the end of the next business day; you may bear up to £35, or more for gross negligence |
| You were tricked into sending it yourself (authorised push payment) | No general refund right yet; the bank can try a recall | Mandatory reimbursement up to £85,000 for Faster Payments and CHAPS made since 7 October 2024; claim within 13 months |
| A direct debit you agreed to, but regret | SEPA direct debit: refund on request within 8 weeks of the debit | Refund under the Direct Debit Guarantee |
| A transfer where the name didn’t match the account | If the bank failed to run Verification of Payee, it is liable; if you went ahead after a “no match” warning, generally not | Confirmation of Payee warnings are taken into account in a claim |
A payment you approved yourself, with a code or a tap in your banking app, is usually treated as authorised, even if a scammer talked you into it. Disputes then turn on whether the bank’s warnings and checks were adequate.
Verification of Payee: the name check on every euro transfer
Under the EU Instant Payments Regulation, payment service providers in the euro area must, since 9 October 2025, check the payee’s name against the IBAN before you send a SEPA credit transfer, instant or regular, and tell you the result: a match, a close match (with the correct name shown), or no match. EU countries outside the euro area follow by 9 July 2027.
A “no match” on a supposed “safe account”, a landlord or a seller is often the last moment to stop a scam. Read the warning; if you still pay, you are generally on your own. If your bank didn’t run the check, or ran it wrongly, it must refund you. In the UK, the equivalent check is called Confirmation of Payee.
In the UK: the APP reimbursement rules
Since 7 October 2024, banks in the UK must reimburse victims of authorised push payment fraud for Faster Payments and CHAPS between UK accounts, up to £85,000 per claim. The Payment Systems Regulator says most victims are reimbursed within five business days. Claims must be made within 13 months of the last payment, the sending bank may deduct an excess of up to £100 (not for vulnerable customers), and the cost is split between the sending and receiving banks. The bank can refuse if you were complicit or grossly negligent. For amounts above the cap, or if the bank says no, you can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
What’s changing in the EU — and what to do meanwhile
A new EU Payment Services Regulation, agreed by lawmakers, adds refund rights for fraud in which criminals impersonate your bank. It has not yet taken effect. Until it does:
- Complain to the bank in writing, with dates, the police reference and why its warnings or checks failed.
- Escalate to your country’s financial ombudsman or out-of-court body; the EU’s FIN-NET network lists them.
- Beware “recovery” services that promise to get the money back for a fee; see recovery scams.
Most transfer scams start with a hijacked or fake account: a romance or investment contact, a “job”, a fake seller. See romance and investment scams, task scams, and if your own account was used, hacked account recovery.
Frequently asked questions
Can my bank reverse an instant transfer?
An instant transfer arrives in seconds, so the bank can only ask the receiving bank to return it. That usually works only if the money is still there and often needs the recipient’s consent. Call immediately anyway.
I approved the payment with a code. Is it unauthorised?
Usually not: a payment you approved yourself counts as authorised, even if you were deceived. In the EU, argue whether the bank’s warnings and Verification of Payee worked; in the UK, claim under the APP reimbursement rules.
How long do I have?
In the EU, report an unauthorised payment without undue delay and at the latest 13 months after the debit. In the UK, APP-fraud claims must be made within 13 months of the last payment.
Someone offers to recover my money for a fee. Should I pay?
No. Upfront-fee “fund recovery” offers are a known follow-up scam. Deal only with your bank, the police and official ombudsman services.
Sources: Payment Services Directive (PSD2) — Directive (EU) 2015/2366, Articles 71–77, Instant Payments Regulation — Regulation (EU) 2024/886 (Verification of Payee), Payment Systems Regulator (UK) — APP scams reimbursement