---
term: "Unauthorised payment transaction"
category: "Liability and disputes"
url: https://agenticopenfinance.com/glossary/unauthorised-payment-transaction
source: AgenticOpenFinance glossary
---

# Unauthorised payment transaction

> A payment the payer did not consent to; in the EU and UK the payer's provider must generally refund it promptly.

In the EU under PSD2 and in the UK under the Payment Services Regulations, a payment transaction is authorised only if the payer has given consent in the agreed form, and one made without that consent is unauthorised. The payer's provider must generally refund an unauthorised transaction promptly once notified, unless it has reasonable grounds to suspect fraud, and the payer bears limited or no loss except where they acted fraudulently or with intent or gross negligence. For agents, the key question is whether a payment made within, or outside, a mandate counts as consented to.

Related terms: [Gross negligence](https://agenticopenfinance.com/glossary/gross-negligence.md), [Mandate](https://agenticopenfinance.com/glossary/mandate.md), [Strong customer authentication](https://agenticopenfinance.com/glossary/strong-customer-authentication.md), [Unauthorized electronic fund transfer](https://agenticopenfinance.com/glossary/unauthorized-electronic-fund-transfer.md)