Upheld: Card / payment disputes complaint against Paysafe Financial Services Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Ms Z instructed PFS to transfer her account closure balance of 277.03USD to an overseas USD bank account. PFS converted the funds to EUR and sent them internationally, but the transfer was rejected by the receiving bank with an 'unknown reason'. Only 143.49USD was returned, leaving Ms Z with a loss of 133.54USD. PFS could not provide evidence of Ms Z's agreement to the EUR conversion, could not explain why the conversion occurred, and failed to provide SWIFT messages or other documentation explaining the rejection. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding PFS's failure to provide requested evidence meant it was more likely than not that PFS's decisions caused the loss, and ordered a refund plus interest and compensation.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that PFS failed to provide adequate evidence to justify its actions. Despite multiple requests, PFS could not explain why it converted USD to EUR for a USD-to-USD transfer, could not provide the agreement for this conversion, and could not provide SWIFT messages explaining the rejection. The ombudsman applied DISP 3.5.9R, finding that PFS's failure to provide requested information, combined with the suspicious circumstances (unexplained conversion, unknown rejection reason, partial return), meant it was more likely than not that PFS's decisions directly caused Ms Z's losses. The ombudsman rejected PFS's argument that losses were beyond its control, as PFS had not demonstrated it followed proper procedures.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website