Can you cancel or reverse a wire transfer?

If you have just sent a wire to the wrong account, or to a fraudster, read the first section and then call your bank. The rest can wait.

What should you do in the first hour?

1. Call your bank's wire or fraud line, not the general number. Have the amount, date, beneficiary name and account, and any reference ready.
2. Ask the bank to cancel the wire if it has not gone, or to send a recall request immediately if it has.
3. If it is fraud, ask the bank to contact the receiving bank directly to freeze the funds.
4. File a report at the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3.gov).
5. Write down every call: time, person, what they said.

Can a wire be cancelled?

Under Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code, which governs wires in the US, a sender can cancel a payment order before the bank accepts it, usually by executing it. In practice, that window is between your request and the bank's release. If you scheduled a wire for later in the day, or it needs a second approver in your company, you may still be in time.

What happens after a wire is sent?

A domestic wire on Fedwire settles in real time and is final. From then on, getting the money back depends on the receiving bank and the recipient. Your bank can send a recall request, and the receiving bank can:

1. Return the money if the recipient agrees.
2. Freeze the account if it believes the funds are fraudulent.
3. Decline, if the recipient refuses and there is no evidence of fraud.

For international wires over SWIFT, banks can send a recall message through each bank in the chain. Each one has to act, so time matters even more.

Are businesses protected like consumers?

Less. Federal rules under Regulation E give consumers sending remittances abroad a 30-minute cancellation right and error resolution rights. Business-to-business wires are not covered by those rules. A business's protection comes from its agreement with its bank, which usually requires security procedures such as call-backs, and from its own controls.

What about wire fraud?

The FBI reports business email compromise as one of the costliest frauds for US companies. The pattern is familiar: an email that looks like it comes from a supplier, a law firm or the CEO, with new bank details and urgency. For international wires, the FBI's Financial Fraud Kill Chain works with banks to try to freeze funds, and it has the best chance when fraud is reported within 72 hours.

Our article on invoice fraud and payment detail scams has a prevention checklist.

How do you prevent the next one?

1. Confirm any new or changed bank details by phone, using a number already on file.
2. Require two people to approve wires above a set amount.
3. Send a small first payment to a new payee and have them confirm receipt.
4. Never act on a change of bank details sent only by email.
5. Check the beneficiary name matches the company on the contract.

How Rivet helps

From the Growth plan, a Rivet workspace has team roles and approvals, so a payment can need a second person before money moves. Each payout shows the recipient name and details before it is approved, which is the step that stops most payment fraud.