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 members 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

Member Responsibilities

Whether the funds are misapplied due to processing error (e.g., keying incorrect account details) or incorrect payment instructions being received, the member 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:

mistaken-payments-misapplied-table-pp
Action	Responsible party
1. Notifying PEXA	Any member that becomes aware of the payment error
2. Providing to PEXA corrective instructions within the 'Corrective Payments' dashboard*	The member 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 here.

PEXA Responsibilities

Where PEXA is notified by a Financial Institution or another member that a payment has been made to an incorrect account, PEXA will:

Contact the member who created the line item;
Enable that member 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 member who created the line item (not more than 1 business day from receipt of notification).

Unapplied Funds

Member Responsibilities

The member must procure amended or corrected account details and provide those details via their ‘Corrective Payments’ dashboard.

PEXA Responsibilities

PEXA will notify the member via their ‘Corrective Payments’ dashboard if funds associated with a Line Item created by the member could not be credited by the relevant Financial Institution to the account details specified by the member.

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 member instructions (not more than 1 Business Day from receipt of notification from the Financial Institution).

Further Guidance

Where a member 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 members. 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.