Imagine waking up to find a mind-boggling R1.5 quadrillion sitting in your bank account. For one Citigroup customer, this wasn’t a dream—it was a short-lived reality.
In a financial blunder of epic proportions, Citigroup mistakenly credited an account with R1.5 quadrillion instead of the intended R5,200. The costly typo was the result of one extra zero and initially went unnoticed by two bank employees, according to reports.
Error Spotted in 90 Minutes
While the mistake could have been a Hollywood-worthy plot, the error was discovered about 90 minutes later and quickly reversed. However, it took several hours to fully correct the issue and reclaim the funds.
The bank reported the incident to the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency as a “near miss,” a term used when a banking error is identified and corrected before causing financial damage.
The recipient’s identity remains undisclosed, possibly sparing them from an avalanche of “long-lost cousin” messages.
Citigroup’s Explanation
In response to the embarrassing blunder, Citigroup stated:
“Despite the fact that a payment of this size could not actually have been executed, our detective controls promptly identified the inputting error between two Citi ledger accounts, and we reversed the entry. Our preventative controls would have also stopped any funds leaving the bank. While there was no impact to the bank or our client, the episode underscores our continued efforts to eliminate manual processes and automate controls through our Transformation.”
In layman’s terms: They caught it, but it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.
A Pattern of Costly Mistakes
This isn’t Citigroup’s first major financial hiccup. The bank reported ten similar “near misses” of at least 1 billion USD last year alone.
One of its most infamous errors occurred in 2020 when it mistakenly sent R16.8 billion while attempting to make interest payments on behalf of Revlon. Some recipients refused to return the funds, leading to a lengthy legal battle. That fiasco contributed to the departure of then-CEO Michael Corbat. His successor, Jane Fraser, has since prioritized improving risk management and internal controls.
Despite these efforts, Citigroup was fined 136 million USD last year for not making sufficient progress in addressing its operational flaws.
Lessons from the Banking Mishap
This incident serves as a stark reminder that even in the world of high finance, human (or software) errors can still slip through the cracks. While banking customers can rest assured that safeguards exist to prevent catastrophic losses, it’s always a good idea to double-check your transactions—especially if you suddenly find yourself in the trillionaire club.
