§ 4-A-208 — Misdescription of Intermediary Bank or Beneficiary's Bank

Section 4-A-208. Misdescription of Intermediary Bank or Beneficiary's\n Bank.\n (1) This subsection applies to a payment order identifying an\nintermediary bank or the beneficiary's bank only by an identifying\nnumber.\n (a) The receiving bank may rely on the number as the proper\n identification of the intermediary or beneficiary's bank and\n need not determine whether the number identifies a bank.\n (b) The sender is obliged to compensate the receiving bank for\n any loss and expenses incurred by the receiving bank as a\n result of its reliance on the number in executing or\n attempting to execute the order.\n (2) This subsection applies to a payment order identifying an\nintermediary bank or the beneficiary's bank both by name and an\nidentifying number if the name and number identify different persons.\n (a) If the sender is a bank, the receiving bank may rely on the\n number as the proper identification of the intermediary or\n beneficiary's bank if the receiving bank, when it executes\n the sender's order, does not know that the name and number\n identify different persons. The receiving bank need not\n determine whether the name and number refer to the same\n person or whether the number refers to a bank. The sender is\n obliged to compensate the receiving bank for any loss and\n expenses incurred by the receiving bank as a result of its\n reliance on the number in executing or attempting to execute\n the order.\n * (b) If the sender is not a bank and the receiving bank proves\n that the sender, before the payment order was accepted, had\n notice that the receiving bank might rely on the number as\n the proper identification of the intermediary or\n beneficiary's bank even if it identifies a person different\n from the bank identified by name, the rights and obligations\n of the sender and the receiving bank are governed by\n paragraph (a) of subsection (2), as though the sender were a\n bank. Proof of notice may be made by any admissible evidence.\n The receiving bank satisfies the burden of proof if it proves\n that the sender, before the payment order was accepted,\n signed a writing stating the information to which the notice\n relates.\n * NB Effective until June 3, 2026\n * (b) If the sender is not a bank and the receiving bank proves\n that the sender, before the payment order was accepted, had\n notice that the receiving bank might rely on the number as\n the proper identification of the intermediary or\n beneficiary's bank even if it identifies a person different\n from the bank identified by name, the rights and obligations\n of the sender and the receiving bank are governed by\n paragraph (a) of subsection (2), as though the sender were a\n bank. Proof of notice may be made by any admissible evidence.\n The receiving bank satisfies the burden of proof if it proves\n that the sender, before the payment order was accepted,\n signed a record stating the information to which the notice\n relates.\n * NB Effective June 3, 2026\n (c) Regardless of whether the sender is a bank, the receiving\n bank may rely on the name as the proper identification of the\n intermediary or beneficiary's bank if the receiving bank, at\n the time it executes the sender's order, does not know that\n the name and number identify different persons. The receiving\n bank need not determine whether the name and number refer to\n the same person.\n (d) If the receiving bank knows that the name and number identify\n different persons, reliance on either the name or the number\n in executing the sender's payment order is a breach of the\n obligation stated in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of\n Section 4-A-302.\n