Mistaken Bank Payments: Commercial Certainty Counts

Abstract

This article critically analyses a leading English case on mistaken payments — Barclays Bank v Simms [1980] QB 677 — and the subsequent application of its reasoning to mistaken bank payments involving three parties (a customer, paying bank, and recipient). The article examines factors that account for the acceptance Simms has received and identifies factors that distinguish three party cases from two party cases (involving a payer and a recipient). Building upon its analysis of other leading UK cases and the US position, it advances a new theoretical approach for three party cases.