Exactly what title says, why is there no way to recoup zelle definitely or wire transfer(maybe?) but if banks send money to wrong person there are severe penalties for not returning.
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I’m no banker but my friend is. She has been over the ACH (and or) wire departments for several banks. Essentially, there are a shit ton of rules, regulations, laws, and levels of compliances banks are REQUIRED to follow for ACH and wires in order to ensure that ACH and wires are reliable and dependable. They shore up what’s been sent and received everyday by like 2-4 PM. It’s mandatory, and they have to send a report of that information to somebody (I don’t know if it’s the Fed reserve or the government). Whoever gets it relies on it, and the next person relies on it.
They can’t do that if you get to take it back (or change your mind). In that case it’s not reliable. Yeah, the app/your account says Johnny sent you $5 via Zelle, but tomorrow Johnny can take back his ($5) so now the reports are wrong, the decisions those reports are based on are wrong, and you don’t accept Zelle anymore because you never know whether you can rely on the fact that the money has actually been paid.
So, its treated like cash. Johnny pays you $5 cash, Johnny got to pry that $5 out of your cold dead hands, take you to court, or take it by force. All of which are extremely unlikely and even if it does happen takes time and process. We can rely on the fact that he gave you $5.
Similar issue came up in my work today. Somebody wanted to pay a debt with a credit card. For reasons, we can’t accept that. He can pay us in cash or a postal money order, certified check, or he can wire it to us. That way we know he can’t take it back. If he pays with a credit card, we could settle the debt, he could dispute the charge and now we owe the person HE owes the debt to. ACH and wires are meant to prevent this type of thing. I feel confident as a business owner that imma get my money; not so much with a credit card.
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