The “Special Refund Mechanism” (MED) is in place to address suspicions of fraudulent activities in transactions carried out through Pix. These suspicions can be identified by both the involved financial institutions and the users themselves.
HOW IT WORKS: If a suspicious situation arises, prompt action is crucial. It’s important to file a police report and immediately notify your bank through official communication channels, such as customer service or the ombudsman. Banking apps provide specific links directing you to the appropriate communication channel.
The bank of the account holder affected will use the Pix system to notify the institution receiving the transfer, thus blocking the funds.
After this step, both the paying financial institution and the party possibly involved in fraudulent activities will have up to seven days to conduct a detailed analysis of the case to confirm if fraud indeed occurred.
If fraud is confirmed, the institution that received the payment will refund the funds to the original payer, who can then credit them back to their account.
WHEN THE MECHANISM DOESN’T APPLY…
It doesn’t apply when a user mistakenly initiates a Pix, like entering the wrong key; disputes between users; transactions with founded suspicions of fraud where funds were directed to a third party’s legitimate transactional account.
Whenever a resource is blocked or returned, the recipient user will be notified, and if it’s not a fraud case, they can contact the institution to clarify the situation. This process is essential to ensure the security of Pix transactions in suspicious situations and is vital for any business considering financial operations in Brazil.
