Not upheld: Card / payment disputes complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Ms K complained to Barclays about delays in receiving an international payment in December 2025. The payment instruction was incomplete, lacking Ms K's sort code in the required SWIFT field (box 59), though the information was included in the IBAN and elsewhere. Barclays rejected the payment and acknowledged it could have communicated more clearly, paying £150 compensation. The ombudsman found that Barclays acted reasonably in requiring complete information in the correct field to avoid crediting the wrong account, and that the compensation already paid was sufficient for the communication failures.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that SWIFT system boxes serve different purposes, with box 59 being the standard field where receiving banks look for beneficiary identification. While account details were present elsewhere in the instruction, the ombudsman accepted that Barclays was not unreasonable in requiring complete information in the correct field, particularly given the risk of crediting the wrong recipient with a sizeable sum. The ombudsman acknowledged that Barclays' communication could have been clearer but found the £150 compensation already paid was reasonable recognition of this failing.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website