§ 4-6. Can the bank refuse to carry out a payment?

The main rule is that the bank cannot decline to execute an authorised payment order when all the terms of your account agreement are met. This applies no matter who started the payment: you yourself, a payment initiation service provider acting for you, or the payee. The legislature has allowed other rules to make exceptions.

If the bank refuses anyway, you must be notified immediately in the agreed manner. The notice must come no later than within the deadline for crediting the payee's account under § 4-12. It must give a reason why the order is not being executed, and explain how factual errors that led to the refusal can be corrected. Example: a payee sends an authorised debit, and all terms of the payer's account agreement are met. The bank cannot then stop it. If the terms are not met and the bank refuses, the payer must be notified with a reason.

The refusal has a consequence: an order that the bank refuses to execute is not considered received as regards the rules on crediting the payee's account in § 4-12, nor as regards the bank's liability for non-execution, defective or late execution in § 4-28. § 4-12 sets limits on which date can be used for calculating interest, and requires the payee's bank to credit the amount and make it available immediately after it has reached the bank. § 4-28 makes the payer's bank liable to the payer for the correct execution of payments that the payer has initiated.

This section belongs together with the neighbouring provisions. § 4-2 says that a transaction is authorised only if the payer has consented. § 4-5 determines when the order is received, and § 4-7 says when it can be cancelled. § 4-10 sets out rules on reserving amounts in the account for card payments. The mandatory-law rule in § 1-9, § 2-2 on the time and place of payment, § 4-21 on charges and fees and § 4-50 on electronic money all refer to this section.