Bank mistakes in your favor, it is said at Monopoly - in reality this has now happened to the major bank Santander in London. Due to a technical error, Santander has over-transferred 75,000 account holders a total of £ 130 million (around EUR 155 million). The bank accidentally doubled monthly payments from 2,000 corporate accounts, The Times newspaper reported Thursday. Now the financial institution is trying to get the money back in talks with the bank of the account holder. The company accounts were not damaged - double the amounts were paid out of Santander's reserves.
"The double payments were the result of a scheduling problem that we quickly identified and fixed," a Santander spokeswoman told the newspaper.
"The recipients and the purpose of the payment will differ depending on the customer, but wages or supplier payments could also be affected."
It is a severe blow for the bank, especially since it is likely to be costly to get it back.
It is feared that some people have already spent the money or are now overestimating their financial status.
An affected bank told the Times that it would not reclaim the money on behalf of Santander if the accounts went into the red as a result.
In Germany there is a right to surrender in the event of incorrect transfers.
If the money is not paid back, there is a risk of legal consequences.
For Santander in Great Britain it was the third breakdown in a year and a half: In May, several customers were unable to make payments for almost a day due to an IT error, and in August 2020, thousands were temporarily unable to use online banking.
Santander belongs to the Spanish group of the same name and is one of the market leaders in Great Britain with around 14 million active customers and 20,000 employees.