Sent Money to the Wrong Account? How to Get It Back
Sending money to the wrong account is easy to do: you pick the wrong saved name in the app, mistype a digit, or send a PromptPay transfer to a number that belongs to someone else. This guide follows the Bank of Thailand's article on mistaken transfers (in Thai), so you can act as soon as you notice.
First: the bank cannot pull the money back on its own
Whether you sent it at a branch, an ATM or in mobile banking, the bank has no power to move the money back to your account unless the person who received it agrees. Calling the bank and asking for a refund is not enough on its own; follow the steps below.
Step 1 — Gather your evidence
Each bank may ask for different documents. You can have these ready now:
- The date and time of the transfer
- The amount
- How you sent it (branch, ATM or mobile banking)
- The ATM receipt or the e-slip from the app
Step 2 — Tell your own bank (the sending bank)
Contact the bank you sent the money from, say it was a mistaken transfer, and ask which documents it needs. Once it takes the case, the bank tells you how long it will take and contacts the receiving account to ask for consent to return the money.
Step 3 — Wait for the recipient's answer
- The recipient agrees: the bank transfers the money back to you.
- The recipient refuses or cannot be reached: the bank gives you evidence of its attempts, which you use in step 4.
Step 4 — Not returned: file a police report
Take the bank's evidence to the police. With a report, the police can issue a legal order for the recipient's bank to freeze the account or disclose its details for further action. Someone who keeps or spends money sent to them by mistake can be reported by the owner. If your case is complicated, ask the police or a lawyer.
If someone sends money to your account by mistake
Contact your own bank to check it. If it really was a mistake, give the bank your consent to send it back. Do not transfer it back yourself, especially if someone asks you to send it to a different account: it may be a scam that uses your account to pass on illegal money (a money mule account).
A different case: you paid for goods and the seller vanished
If you paid for something and the seller cannot be reached, that is fraud, not a mistaken transfer. Report it online at thaipoliceonline.go.th or call the anti-online-fraud hotline 1441. Have the chat, the slip and the recipient's account number ready.
Check before every transfer
Before you confirm, check all four: the account or PromptPay number, the account name, the bank and the amount.
Shops that take transfers in chat can use Easyrobin slip check to ask the bank whether the transfer exists before shipping.
Summary
Gather evidence → tell your bank → the bank contacts the recipient → if the money is not returned, take the bank's evidence to the police. To avoid a repeat, check the account number, name, bank and amount before every transfer.