Bitcoin is not regulated to a degree that allows any kind of meaningful protection from errors. Some form of regulation is probably coming soon, and the IRS is certainly interested, but the whole point of Bitcoin, for many, is precisely the fact that it can be transferred electronically without going through a regulated financial institution. And that is what makes it difficult or impossible to cancel a transaction, even if there is an error.
Even with banks, wire transfers often cannot be reversed. Wire transfers are treated as cleared funds immediately, and this allows the recipient immediate access to the money, without having to worry about a reversal caused by insufficient funds or a stop payment order from the party that sent the money.
ACH and wire transfer are two very different things. This has been discussed in other threads quite a bit, and the law is pretty clear in the USA. An ACH transfer, by its very definition, and by the federal regulations that govern it, is an electronic check. Like a paper check, the party that initiates an ACH transfer has the right to stop payment, within certain parameters and limits.
Let's say you give me a personal loan, and I am paying it back in installments. At the end, I get confused, and send you an extra payment, after the loan is paid off. I send you a paper check. You deposit it. I can stop payment on that check. Even if your bank has already allowed you to withdraw the money, or allowed you to use the money to make purchases with your debit card, I can still stop payment within a certain time period. Your bank will reverse the deposit, and that could easily cause your account balance to go negative. You will not get to keep the money
If you sue your bank, you will definitely lose, and probably have to pay the bank's attorney's fees, because that kind of lawsuit would be frivolous. You can sue ME, but if I can clearly show that the loan was paid off and the check was sent by mistake and you were not entitled to the money, you will almost certainly lose that case, too.
The rules are roughly the same for an ACH payment. The time frame and the procedures may be a little different. But the concept is the same as stopping payment on a paper check. An ACH payment can be reversed.
BMK
Even with banks, wire transfers often cannot be reversed. Wire transfers are treated as cleared funds immediately, and this allows the recipient immediate access to the money, without having to worry about a reversal caused by insufficient funds or a stop payment order from the party that sent the money.
ACH and wire transfer are two very different things. This has been discussed in other threads quite a bit, and the law is pretty clear in the USA. An ACH transfer, by its very definition, and by the federal regulations that govern it, is an electronic check. Like a paper check, the party that initiates an ACH transfer has the right to stop payment, within certain parameters and limits.
Let's say you give me a personal loan, and I am paying it back in installments. At the end, I get confused, and send you an extra payment, after the loan is paid off. I send you a paper check. You deposit it. I can stop payment on that check. Even if your bank has already allowed you to withdraw the money, or allowed you to use the money to make purchases with your debit card, I can still stop payment within a certain time period. Your bank will reverse the deposit, and that could easily cause your account balance to go negative. You will not get to keep the money
If you sue your bank, you will definitely lose, and probably have to pay the bank's attorney's fees, because that kind of lawsuit would be frivolous. You can sue ME, but if I can clearly show that the loan was paid off and the check was sent by mistake and you were not entitled to the money, you will almost certainly lose that case, too.
The rules are roughly the same for an ACH payment. The time frame and the procedures may be a little different. But the concept is the same as stopping payment on a paper check. An ACH payment can be reversed.
BMK
