PEXA Framework for managing Mistaken Payments
When completing a financial settlement in PEXA, there is a risk that a payment error, or Mistaken Payment, may occur where a payment is processed by a bank, resulting in either:
MISAPPLIED FUNDS – where funds have been received in an unrelated or unintended account instead of the account of the intended beneficiary,
or
UNAPPLIED FUNDS – where funds are unable to be credited to the nominated account.
In the PEXA System, financial settlement is coordinated through payment instructions, sent from PEXA to Financial Institutions, as specified by customers in the Workspace. Accordingly, PEXA has limited control over processes for the recovery and return of funds in response to a Mistaken Payment event.
Resolving Mistaken Payment events requires cooperation between all parties.
Misapplied Funds
Customer Responsibilities
Whether the funds are misapplied due to processing error (e.g., keying incorrect account details) or incorrect payment instructions being received, the customer is responsible for following up or seeking to deal with the Mistaken Payment by notifying PEXA.
All reasonable steps must be taken to assist the return of funds where a payment has, or may have, been made to the wrong recipient, including where relevant:
Action | Responsible party |
|---|---|
| 1. Notifying PEXA | Any customer that becomes aware of the payment error |
| 2. Providing to PEXA corrective instructions within the 'Corrective Payments' dashboard* | The customer who created the line item which is the subject of a Mistaken Payment |
| 3. Where funds can be recovered, returning funds back to PEXA or processing returned funds to the actual intended recipient in accordance with the corrective instructions received by PEXA | The Financial Institution of the unintended recipient |
*Information about the Corrective Payment process can be found in our Corrective Payments Guidelines.
PEXA Responsibilities
Where PEXA is notified by a Financial Institution or another customer that a payment has been made to an incorrect account, PEXA will:
- Contact the customer who created the line item;
- Enable that customer to provide corrected or amended account details via the ‘Corrective Payments’ dashboard; and
- Either remedy the error (if funds have been returned to PEXA) or provide any relevant details in relation to the misapplied payment to the recipient Financial Institution to request it remedy the payment error.
Where the relevant Financial Institution updates PEXA on the status of misapplied funds, PEXA will notify the customer who created the line item (not more than 1 business day from receipt of notification).
Unapplied Funds
Customer Responsibilities
The customer must procure amended or corrected account details and provide those details via their ‘Corrective Payments’ dashboard.
PEXA Responsibilities
PEXA will notify the customer via their ‘Corrective Payments’ dashboard if funds associated with a Line Item created by the customer could not be credited by the relevant Financial Institution to the account details specified by the customer.
PEXA will provide instructions (not more than 1 Business Day from receipt of completed form) to the Financial Institution to assist with unapplied funds being credited correctly.
PEXA will then notify the owner of the line item that funds have been processed for payment to the correct account as per customer instructions (not more than 1 Business Day from receipt of notification from the Financial Institution).
Further Guidance
Where a customer becomes aware of a Mistaken Payment event, they should notify PEXA immediately to commence corrective action at:
Telephone: 1300 084 515
Email: support@pexa.com.au
The obligations detailed within this document are stipulated in PEXA’s Service Charter and the Participation Agreement between PEXA and its customers. PEXA complies with conditions specified in ASIC Instrument 20-0584 for the management of Mistaken Payments.
Feedback or complaints regarding PEXA’s management of Mistaken Payments can be made by contacting the PEXA Support Centre.
