Before you submit
What to have ready
- Your business name and contact details
- The payment date and amount
- The recipient’s name and payment reference
- The relevant batch or transaction reference
Payment recall request
Submitted an EFT payment incorrectly?
If an EFT payment has already been processed into the recipient’s account, start the payment-recall process as soon as possible.
Important limitations
Act quickly, but please understand that a recall is not guaranteed.
- Recall requests can only be initiated within 30 days of the transaction date.
- Payments of R5 million or more are processed through SWIFT and cannot use this payment-recall process.
- Payments processed using RTC (Real Time Clearing) cannot be recalled.
- A fee applies to every recall request, irrespective of whether the recall succeeds.
Best-effort process
Why a recall may be unsuccessful
- No authority to debit the recipient’s account
- Insufficient funds in the recipient’s account
- An invalid account
- The permitted time limit has been exceeded
Excluded recipients and accounts
Recall requests cannot be performed for these payments
- South African Revenue Service payments, including PAYE, VAT and UIF
- Public recipients such as Edgars, SARS and Telkom
- Investment accounts, including 32-day notice accounts
- Vehicle-finance accounts
- Loan accounts
- Credit cards
- eBucks
- Suspense accounts
- Municipal accounts
- Estate Late and recovery accounts
What happens next
How the recall process works
Request sent to the bank
We are not permitted to contact the account holder directly. A request is sent to the recipient’s bank so that it can obtain authority from its account holder.
Authority and funds checked
The recipient must authorise the debit and sufficient funds must still be available in the recipient’s account.
Outcome confirmed by email
If successful, the funds are returned electronically to your nominated account. If unsuccessful, an email will explain the outcome and provide the available account-holder details.
Allow approximately five working days
The process should normally be completed within five working days after the instruction is received, although some banks may take longer.
Submit a recall request
Log into PAO and open Contact → Recall Request
Complete the recall-request form and select Submit. You may also contact us and provide the relevant payment details.