Oooops! I sent a transfer to the wrong IBAN
19/02/2026
You’ve probably asked yourself at some point what happens if you type in the wrong IBAN (the recipient’s account number) when you order a transfer. Can you recover the money? What should banks do in these cases?
The IBAN is a code that identifies current accounts and consists of letters and numbers. In Spain it has 24 characters and is like the ID number of a bank account: it's unique, recognisable in any country because it follows an international standard and necessary for sending or receiving money safely. Two of these 24 characters are control digits. This means that if any of the IBAN digits are entered incorrectly, the system will warn you that the code is wrong, helping you catch any typos before they matter.
It is important to remember that when your bank executes a transfer using the IBAN you entered, it's considered correctly carried out and the bank is exempt from liability. Additionally, transfers are irrevocable, so if you make a mistake, the bank won't be able to order a refund for you, regardless of whether it's an ordinary or instant transfer.
This is why from 9 October 2025 payment service providers are required to offer a free verification service to check whether the beneficiary of the transfer is actually the holder of the account where you are going to send the money.
This is how it works: once you’ve entered the IBAN code and before the money is sent, your bank will notify you (even when the recipient account has several joint holders) if there is a match, a minor mismatch or a major mismatch between the payee’s name and the account holder’s name, with an explanatory message, such as, for instance, “the name you have entered does not match the name of the account holder”. Your bank might also indicate that, due to technical issues, it was unable to verify the account holder’s identity, in which case it would be wise for you not to proceed with the transfer.
If the bank’s verification system notifies you of a major or minor mismatch between the beneficiary and the account holder and you still decide to go ahead with the transfer, the transfer will be completed. If an error occurs, neither the financial institution nor the beneficiary can be held liable.
That said, even if you have entered the IBAN and the beneficiary’s name correctly, your bank could inform you that there is a major or minor mismatch between the person indicated and the account holder. Don’t be alarmed. This can happen, for example, when the recipient is your friend “José”, who is identified at the bank with his full name, “José Luis”. The verification system will cross-check the full name registered in the account with the name you provided. As it's not a perfect match, the bank will issue the warning. This is normal when the recipient has a double given name or when we don't write the name exactly as it appears in the beneficiary’s account contract, since banks use the data contractually provided by their customers during their name checks.
Therefore, before ordering a transfer, and despite the reassurance that the verification system may provide, double-check the recipient's IBAN, especially when you're sending a large amount.
