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銀行存入錯誤賬戶後 10,000 美元電匯消失
CIBC表示表格上的錯誤信息導致了錯誤
羅莎·馬爾基泰利 · CBC 新聞 · 2022 年 4 月 4 日
羅伯特·貝漢 (Robert Behan) 和芭芭拉·貝漢 (Barbara Behan) 與道明銀行 (TD Bank) 和 CIBC 進行了幾個月的鬥爭，試圖弄清楚他們匯給兒子的 10,000 美元是如何進入陌生人的賬戶的。
它被宣傳為一種安全可靠的匯款方式，但安大略省的一對夫婦表示，他們給成年兒子匯出的 10,000 美元電匯被存入一個陌生人的賬戶，然後就消失了。
芭芭拉·貝漢 (Barbara Behan) 和羅伯特·貝漢 (Robert Behan) 想幫助他們的兒子和他的年輕家庭完成家中的地下室，因此他們寄出了現金作為聖誕禮物。
這筆轉賬於 12 月 21 日從這對夫婦位於安省 Penetanguishene 的 TD 銀行賬戶轉至 CIBC 位於卡爾加裏的一家分行，他們的兒子在那裏經營銀行業務數十年。 但這筆錢從未出現在他的賬戶上。
幾周後，CIBC 告訴 Behan 夫婦，錢不見了——在匯款當天就存入了別人的賬戶——賬戶持有人第二天就提取了全部 10,000 美元，然後關閉了賬戶。
“這太不可思議了。顯然這個人的賬號和我們兒子的賬號一模一樣，”芭芭拉說。
有故事嗎？ 向 Rosa 和 Go Public 團隊發送電子郵件
“但他們 [CIBC] 從未將帳號的名稱與我們兒子的名字相匹配。他們隻是將其存入了錯誤的人的帳戶。沒有人檢查。”
CIBC 表示，客戶可以擁有相同的賬號。 這是另一組號碼——識別特定分行的五位數交通號碼——用來區分賬戶。
貝漢夫婦在試圖收回資金的兩個月裏積累了一些文件。 （基思·伯吉斯/CBC）
銀行專家沃納·安特韋勒表示，如果銀行有更好的係統來確保電匯最終到達正確的地方，所有這一切都可以避免。
“這確實指出了當前體係的[問題]，”不列顛哥倫比亞大學尚德商學院副教授安特韋勒說。
“一個簡單的錯誤可能很快就會變得複雜，因為一旦資金離開賬戶，就很難或者通常不可能取回它......所以確保正確的轉賬信息確實非常重要。”
經過兩個月與銀行的鬥爭後，加拿大帝國商業銀行的監察員認定銀行沒有過錯，但向這對夫婦退還了一半的錢，以示善意。
Go Public 聯係銀行後，銀行退回了全部金額。
觀看 | 電匯丟失：
銀行將電匯存入錯誤賬戶後，夫婦損失了 1 萬美元 | 上市
安大略省的一對夫婦表示，他們的 10,000 美元電匯存入了錯誤的賬戶，然後就消失了。 該案例凸顯了加拿大電匯係統的一個關鍵問題——缺乏內置錯誤檢測。
“許多個不眠之夜”
貝漢夫婦說，在那之前，他們度過了“許多個不眠之夜”，想知道是否還能再次看到自己的錢。
“我一直很擔心。我對所有銀行經理和我們接觸過的每個人說，‘如果這是你的 10,000 美元，你會如此悠閑地對待它嗎？’ 這是 10,000 美元。這不是 1.50 美元。這是辛苦賺來的錢，”芭芭拉說。 這對夫婦表示，他們在兩家銀行之間來來回回，但雙方都沒有承擔責任。
道明銀行告訴這對夫婦，資金丟失是加拿大帝國商業銀行的錯——因為在道明銀行成功轉賬後，該銀行將這筆錢轉入了別人的賬戶。
CIBC 的監察員將責任歸咎於 Behan 夫婦，並告訴他們，他們不應該提供兒子卡爾加裏分行的交通號碼，而應該向道明銀行提供安省伯靈頓的交通號碼，也就是他幾十年前首次開設賬戶的地點。
監察員還表示，該銀行正試圖“通過法律訴訟”從其他賬戶持有人那裏收回資金。
CIBC 發言人 Trish Tervit 在給 Go Public 的電子郵件中寫道：“我們鼓勵客戶在付款時仔細檢查這些信息，以確保資金交付給預定的收款人。”
這對夫婦表示，任何問題都應該被標記出來並退還錢。
“事情根本不應該達到這樣的地步，”芭芭拉說。
道明銀行告訴這對夫婦，資金丟失是加拿大帝國商業銀行的錯——因為在道明銀行成功轉賬後，該銀行將這筆錢轉入了別人的賬戶。 （科林·霍爾/CBC）
容易出錯
Antweiler 表示，此類錯誤是加拿大有缺陷的電匯係統直接造成的。該係統名為 Lynx，盡管去年 9 月才推出，但很容易出錯。 大多數在加拿大運營的銀行（包括 CIBC）都使用 Lynx，但也有少數例外。
他說：“填寫表格時會出現大量錯誤，而且最輕微的錯誤都可能導致人們虧錢，而且往往是嚴重虧錢。”
Lynx 僅在加拿大使用。 它由非營利性加拿大支付機構擁有和運營，該機構由特許銀行和加拿大銀行等組織管轄。 它負責幾乎所有用於付款或以其他方式匯款的係統（包括借記卡、支票和電匯，但不包括信用卡）。
據加拿大支付局稱，2021 年金融機構之間處理了超過 1,100 萬筆交易，價值 126 萬億美元，其中包括國際支付。
Lynx 不要求銀行將賬號與賬戶持有人的姓名進行匹配——Antweiler 表示大多數銀行都不會這樣做——這增加了發生像 Behans 那樣的錯誤的可能性。
CIBC 否認自己有過錯，但最終退還了 Behan 夫婦的 10,000 美元。 （科林·霍爾/CBC）
“我們需要讓加拿大人更容易地在銀行之間轉賬……一個不易出錯的係統，如果幾個字符錯誤，錢最終會流到錯誤的地方，”他說。
據加拿大支付局網站稱，Lynx 取代了已經存在 20 多年的大額轉賬係統 (LVTS)。 它將 Lynx 稱為“支付創新的另一個裏程碑”。
Antweiler 指出，有一個解決方案，並指出其他使用國際銀行帳號 (IBAN) 係統的國家。
與 Lynx（使用三位數的銀行代碼、五位數的運輸代碼和帳號）不同，IBAN 使用冗長的字母數字代碼，允許其內置錯誤檢測來標記問題，幾乎不留下人為錯誤的空間。
“這意味著如果出現任何錯誤，例如數字調換或數字丟失，[轉賬]將無法進行，”安特韋勒說。
截至一月份，已有 79 個國家/地區在使用 IBAN 係統，其中包括歐盟、中東、北非和加勒比地區的國家。
銀行業專家維爾納·安特韋勒 (Werner Antweiler) 表示，盡管加拿大名為 Lynx 的電匯係統推出還不到一年，但仍存在缺陷。 （不列顛哥倫比亞大學）
Go Public 向加拿大五家主要銀行、加拿大金融局和加拿大支付局詢問了電匯錯誤的統計數據，但沒有一家提供這些信息。
貝漢夫婦表示，需要一個更安全、更可靠的係統。
“我們發現，在這段時間裏，我們的銀行係統、我們的銀行之間不互相通信。他們不一起工作。他們沒有相同的電匯表格。他們不來回溝通，”羅伯特說。
小企業主被騙，然後被銀行遺棄，損失 2.3 萬美元
克服困難：為什麽客戶在與銀行的鬥爭中經常失敗
存款消失：當銀行損失你的錢時會發生什麽
“我們要說的是，[銀行]將來如何糾正這種情況，以免這種情況發生在其他人身上？”
Go Public 向 Payments Canada 詢問了 Lynx 的問題以及是否考慮更改為 IBAN 係統，但它沒有回答這些問題。
$10,000 wire transfer disappears after bank puts it in wrong account
CIBC says wrong information on form led to the error
Rosa Marchitelli · CBC News ·
Robert and Barbara Behan battled both TD Bank and CIBC for months, trying to figure out how $10,000 they wired to their son ended up in a stranger's account. (Keith Burgess/CBC)
It's advertised as a safe and reliable way to send money, but an Ontario couple says the $10,000 wire transfer they sent their adult son was deposited into a stranger's account, then disappeared.
Barbara and Robert Behan wanted to help their son and his young family finish the basement in their home, so they sent the cash as a Christmas gift.
The transfer was sent from the couple's TD Bank account in Penetanguishene, Ont., on Dec. 21, to a CIBC branch in Calgary where their son has been banking for decades. But the money never showed up in his account.
Weeks later, CIBC told the Behans the money was gone — deposited into someone else's account the day it was sent — and that the account holder had withdrawn all $10,000 the next day, then shut the account down.
"It's inconceivable. Apparently this person had the exact same account number as our son," Barbara said.
- Got a story? Email Rosa and the Go Public team
"But they [CIBC] never matched the name of the account number to our son's name. They just put it into the wrong person's account. Nobody checked it."
CIBC says clients can have identical account numbers. It's another set of numbers — the five-digit transit numbers that identify a specific branch — that differentiates between accounts.
Some of the paperwork the Behans accumulated during the two months they were trying to get their money back. (Keith Burgess/CBC)
All of this could have been prevented if banks had a better system in place to make sure wire transfers end up in the right place, says banking expert Werner Antweiler.
"It really points to the [issues] with the current system," said Antweiler, an associate professor at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia.
"A simple mistake can get compounded very quickly because once the money has left an account, it is not easy, or it's often impossible, to retrieve it … so that's really imperative to get the transfer information right."
After two months of battling the banks, CIBC's ombudsman decided the bank was not at fault but offered the couple half of their money back as a goodwill gesture.
The bank returned the entire amount after Go Public contacted it.
WATCH | Wire transfer goes missing:
Couple loses $10K wire transfer after bank deposits it in wrong account | Go Public
'Many sleepless nights'
Until then, the Behans say they spent "many sleepless nights" wondering if they'd ever see their money again.
"I worried constantly. I said to all the bank managers and everybody we've been in touch with, 'If this was your $10,000, would you be so laid-back about it?' It's $10,000. It's not a $1.50. It's hard-earned money," Barbara said. The couple says they were bounced back and forth between the two banks, with neither taking responsibility.
TD told the couple the missing funds were CIBC's fault — because it put the money into someone else's account after TD had successfully transferred it.
CIBC's ombudsman blamed the Behans, telling them that, instead of providing the transit number for their son's Calgary branch, they should have given TD the one for the Burlington, Ont., location where he first opened his account decades ago.
The ombudsman also said the bank is attempting to recoup the money from the other account holder, "through legal action."
"We encourage clients to double-check this information when sending payments to ensure the funds are delivered to the intended recipient," wrote CIBC spokesperson Trish Tervit in an email to Go Public.
The couple says any problem should have been flagged and the money returned.
"It never should have reached the point that it did," Barbara said.
TD told the couple the missing funds were CIBC's fault — because it put the money into someone else's account after TD had successfully transferred it. (Colin Hall/CBC)
Prone to errors
Such errors are a direct result of Canada's flawed wire transfer system, says Antweiler — a system, called Lynx, that's prone to mistakes even though it was launched just last September. The majority of banks operating in Canada use Lynx, including CIBC, with a few exceptions.
"There are a great number of errors that happen when forms are filled out [and] the slightest error can lead to these kinds of situations where people are out of pocket, often quite deeply out of pocket," he said.
Lynx is only used in Canada. It's owned and operated by the non-profit Payments Canada, which is governed by organizations including the chartered banks and the Bank of Canada. It's in charge of almost all the systems (including debit, cheques and wire transfers — but not credit cards) used to make payments or otherwise send money.
More than 11 million transactions valued at $126 trillion were processed between financial institutions in 2021, including international payments, according to Payments Canada.
Lynx doesn't require banks to match the account number with the name of the account holder — and Antweiler says most banks don't — which increases the chance of errors like what happened to the Behans.
CIBC denied it was at fault, but eventually returned the Behans’ $10,000. (Colin Hall/CBC)
"We need to allow Canadians to transfer money more easily from bank to bank … a system that is not as error-prone, where if a few characters are wrong, the money ends up in the wrong place," he said.
Lynx replaced the Large Value Transfer System (LVTS) that had been in place for more than 20 years, according to the Payments Canada website. It calls Lynx "another milestone in payments innovation."
There is a solution, says Antweiler, pointing to other countries that use the International Bank Account Number (IBAN) system.
Unlike Lynx — which uses a three-digit bank code, a five-digit transit code and the account number — IBAN uses a lengthy alphanumeric code that allows its built-in error detection to flag problems, leaving little room for human error.
"That means if there's any error, like a number transposed or digit missing, [the transfer] would not work," Antweiler said.
As of January, 79 countries were using the IBAN system, including countries in the EU, Middle East, North Africa and the Caribbean.
Banking expert Werner Antweiler says, despite being less than a year old, Canada's wire transfer system called Lynx is flawed. (University of British Columbia)
Go Public asked five of Canada's major banks, Finance Canada and Payments Canada for statistics on wire transfer errors, but none made the information available.
The Behans say a safer, more reliable system is needed.
"We discovered during this time that our banking system, our banks, do not talk to each other. They do not work together. They don't have the same wire transfer forms. They don't communicate back and forth," Robert said.
"The thing we are saying is, how are [the banks] going to correct it in the future so it doesn't happen to anybody else?"
Go Public asked Payments Canada about the problems with Lynx and if it's considering changing to the IBAN system, but it didn't answer the questions.
