Overview
- The European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday, October 15, 2026, that banks must promptly refund customers for losses from unauthorized payments once customers notify them without undue delay.
- After making an initial refund, a bank may seek to recover the sum only if it proves the customer acted intentionally or with gross negligence, shifting the burden of proof onto the bank.
- The judgment creates a single narrow exception that lets a bank withhold repayment only when it has justified reasons to suspect the customer of committing fraud and the bank notifies the competent national authority in writing.
- The ruling stems from a Polish phishing case in which a customer lost about €700 after entering credentials on a fake website, and the Polish court must now apply the EuGH decision to the original dispute.
- Consumer groups say the decision should reduce costly lawsuits and change how banks handle fraud claims across EU states by moving short-term financial risk to banks and prompting new national guidance and procedures.