How to Recall a Corporate Wire Transfer

What a corporate recall actually asks the bank to do

A recall request asks your bank to contact the receiving bank and ask for the transfer to be returned or held before the funds are withdrawn. It is a request, not an automatic reversal, so cooperation from the other bank still decides the outcome.

For a business account, this request usually goes through your relationship manager or a dedicated business banking fraud line rather than the consumer hotline. Contact that channel directly rather than a branch teller, since they can escalate faster.

Local transfers versus international wires

A transfer within Malaysia, sent by DuitNow or a standard interbank transfer, follows a process similar to a personal recall, and speed matters just as much. Contact your bank the moment the payment is suspected to be fraudulent, ideally within hours.

An international wire sent by SWIFT is recalled through a formal SWIFT recall message sent to the receiving bank, which can take longer to process and depends entirely on the other bank’s cooperation. Cross-border cases succeed less often, so it is honest to expect a lower chance the further the money has travelled.

What your bank will ask for

Be ready with the transaction reference number, the exact amount and date, the receiving bank and account details, and a short account of why the payment is believed fraudulent. If the payment followed a business email compromise pattern, mention this clearly, since banks recognise it.

A company authorisation letter or a board resolution may be requested for larger transfers, depending on your bank’s internal process. Having your finance team ready to provide this quickly avoids delay.

While the recall is pending

Do not wait for the recall outcome before working through the first actions after a scam, since the two processes run separately and both matter. Make a police report and lodge it with the Commercial Crime Investigation Department, and call the National Scam Response Centre on 997 if the transfer is recent.

Keep your finance team informed of the reference numbers from both the bank and the police, since these are frequently requested later. This also supports a civil claim if the recall does not succeed.

What to do next

Act on the recall and the report at the same time rather than one after the other, since both processes take time to move. This is part of the wider BEC incident response, which covers what comes after the recall attempt.

If the amount is significant and the recall does not succeed, a first assessment can help you see whether pursuing the receiving account further is worth the cost.