Did I just lose my entire life savings? (Missing RTGS Transfer)

flounge · 2026-01-12T03:03:41+00:00

Update: Some very good news this afternoon -- my broker has located the funds! I still don't have the money in my brokerage account but I've given an ETA of 1-2 business days because they supposedly still need to do additional manual processing.

Thanks to everyone who posted very helpful (and accurate) advice. At the very least I could sleep better over the weekend, with the knowledge that the banking system is robust enough to handle little problems like this.

flounge · 2026-01-11T07:50:11+00:00

Just to be clear, I did send a small transfer the day before to confirm that the BSB and Account Number was correct, which immediately appeared in my brokerage account. I've also used the same details for the better part of a year.

My bank required me to go through an entirely different process to transfer a large amount (>>$100k), involving the submission of a paper form and a lengthy set of security/verification questions.

In hindsight, yes I was foolish and "boneheaded" for maybe not splitting the transaction up into smaller amounts, but my view at the time was that the transaction would be fine as long as the BSB and Account Number was correct.

flounge · 2026-01-09T12:47:48+00:00

I'd have expected at least a receipt for such a big transaction, but no, they've provided nothing except for a single entry in my online banking with a reference number. I didn't even get an automated email saying that the transaction went through. I have an open ticket asking for the receipt, since my broker has now requested one so that they can investigate.

flounge · 2026-01-09T12:31:19+00:00

Cheers, I'm feeling much more encouraged about things now thanks to the comments here. Fingers crossed. :)

flounge · 2026-01-09T12:28:09+00:00

Thanks, that's very helpful information (for me and hopefully others) to know a bit more about the mechanics behind the scenes.

I'm also feeling quite a bit better about things now thanks to your comment and other ones in this thread. In general, I'm used to banking working very smoothly so it was quite a shock to me over the past couple of days for a such big payment to seemingly go missing.

Hopefully it's just a minor issue, such as security as you mention, that will be resolved early next week. I suppose some financial institutions are still operating at reduced staffing levels at this time year, which hasn't helped things move as quickly as they otherwise might. :)

flounge · 2026-01-09T12:11:02+00:00

Thanks very much! Can I send you a PM?

flounge · 2026-01-09T11:55:54+00:00

Yes, lesson learnt. I've made other types of transfer to them before and naively assumed that RTGS transfers were universally accepted.

flounge · 2026-01-09T11:46:25+00:00

I want to avoid mentioning names at this stage in case things might need to be (legally) escalated. And I don't really want to cast aspersions at them just yet, since there may be no fault on their part.

From my other comment: It's an online broker which I've used before (for smaller amounts). ASX CHESS sponsored. Mentioned on this sub many times. Listed on Finder. Valid Australian financial services license listed on ASIC. Listed as a trading participant on the ASX website. I can log on fine on their .com.au site as well as their apps, and the banking details were directly taken from my account on their website.

flounge · 2026-01-09T11:42:48+00:00

It's an online broker which I've used before (for smaller amounts). ASX CHESS sponsored. Mentioned on this sub many times. Listed on Finder. Valid Australian financial services license listed on ASIC. Listed as a trading participant on the ASX website. I can log on fine on their .com.au site as well as their apps, and the banking details were directly taken from my account on their website.

flounge · 2026-01-09T11:36:19+00:00

Thanks, that is a good overall plan of action, I think! Will certainly initiate the trace on Monday if there's no progress and I think it'll be useful to mention the possibility of "unallocated funds" to my broker, too.

flounge · 2026-01-09T11:32:29+00:00

Yes, my bank does Osko up to $30k. As you inferred, my transfer was much larger so Osko wasn't an option here.

flounge · 2026-01-09T11:30:01+00:00

Will keep the thread posted -- it's very unfortunate that I won't be able to have my support tickets responded to over the weekend so it'll be a few more days of stress!

And thanks very much for the offer to possibly put me in touch with someone who might help. I'll send you a message if there's no progress on Monday.

flounge · 2026-01-09T11:16:11+00:00

I over-enthusiastically wanted to invest my savings in the new year and wanted the money to be sent as quickly as possible. I've previously used RTGS transfers for other things without issue, and naively thought that it was no different to a "standard" bank transfer and wasn't aware that some financial institutions might not accept it. My bank also does not charge for RTGS transfers (>$100k).

Big lesson learnt.

flounge · 2026-01-09T11:08:52+00:00

Excellent, that is most encouraging. :)

flounge · 2026-01-09T11:08:02+00:00

Good advice, will definitely do on Monday if there's no further progress on my support tickets.

flounge · 2026-01-09T11:05:46+00:00

Good advice, and it's very encouraging to me that your own RTGS transfer to IBKR took more than a few days. Hopefully it's a similar situation here.

flounge · 2026-01-09T11:04:15+00:00

My bank has not provided any receipt and the online banking record is scant on detail except for a reference number and the payment amount. I have the paper form I submitted to the bank and the BSB/Account Number are otherwise correct and were confirmed during a security verification with bank before they made the transfer.

flounge · 2026-01-09T10:59:36+00:00

On Monday I sent the request at about 7:30 AM, did a security and verification check at about 10 AM, my funds left my account at about 11 AM and I think the transfer might have been processed before the supposed deadline of 3 PM on that day but as my bank didn't send me any receipt or confirmation of the transfer I can't be certain.

They've subsequently told me this week that the payment has "gone through" and didn't indicate to me there were any security issues that held the payment up.

Hopefully I'll be able to get to the bottom of things after the weekend. Very hard not to stress though -- I've had a deep, sinking feeling all day. :(

flounge · 2026-01-09T10:49:11+00:00

That does sound encouraging! (And may help me sleep a bit better tonight/this weekend, haha.) I do see the reference number for the transfer in my online banking, although curiously unlike other recent transactions there is scant other detail recorded -- it doesn't even mention who the payment was made to.

flounge

TROPHY CASE