Tech

⁠⁠The $900 million wire that wasn't final

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Based on the episode description, not a full transcript. Source evidence retrieved 08/10/2026, 07:32:24 UTC.

Briefings

Patrick McKenzie's 2022 Bits essay argues payment finality depends on rails, parties, and law rather than the method itself. He applies this to Citibank's 2020 $900 million wire to Revlon, where a district court allowed $500 million in refunds before an appeals court reversed it. The episode also examines how major economies like the UK, India, and Japan attempt to make fraudulent instant payments less final.

Key points

• Citibank's 2020 accidental wire of nearly $900 million was partially unwound, with a district court initially allowing recipients to keep about $500 million before an appeals court reversed the decision.
• Patrick McKenzie's 2022 Bits essay 'Finality does not exist in payments' argues that payment finality is a technosociolegal construct determined by rails, parties, and governing law rather than the payment method alone.

Context and limitations

Evidence covers only the 2020 Citibank wire and Patrick McKenzie's 2022 essay; specific outcomes for UK, India, and Japan's attempts to reduce finality are described as mixed results without detailed data.

Generated by Bittrees-hosted qwen35-2b sha256:aaf42c8b7c3c on 08/10/2026, 07:36:42 UTC. Based on publisher-provided feed evidence; may not cover the full original article. Check the source for details.

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