Are you defrauded and want your money back from the bank? For unauthorized payments – where someone else has used your card or BankID – the main rule is that the bank covers the loss beyond a small egenandel. You can demand your money back as early as the next working day.
Defrauded? The law gives you the right to your money back from the bank
An unauthorized payment is a payment you have not given valid consent to. Then the starting point is clear: the bank bears the loss, not you. This is stated in the Financial Agreements Act (LOV-2020-12-18-146, in force 1 January 2023) § 4-30.
The law divides liability into three degrees. Your egenandel – what you must cover yourself – depends on how careless you were (per 2026):
- Ordinary negligence: you cover up to 450 kr. If you were completely without fault, you cover nothing.
- Gross negligence: you cover up to 12 000 kr for electronic payments (card or BankID). The bank takes the rest.
- Intentional act (you understood that you breached your duties): you can lose the entire amount.
Many older articles write 1 200 kr. That is wrong today – the limit was lowered to 450 kr from 1 January 2023. If you want to understand how codes and passwords are tricked out of people, read how BankID fraud works. At SamfunnPrep we collect such consumer rights in plain language.
Who bears the loss?
In short, it comes down to one thing: did someone else use your payment method, or did you approve the payment yourself? The table shows the main rules (per 2026).
| Situation | Who bears the loss | Your limit | Deadline to report |
|---|---|---|---|
| Others used your card/BankID (unauthorized) | Bank | 0–450 kr | Without undue delay, at the latest 13 months |
| Unauthorized + gross negligence | You up to the cap, bank the rest | Up to 12 000 kr | Without undue delay, at the latest 13 months |
| Unauthorized + intentional act | You | Entire amount | Without undue delay, at the latest 13 months |
| You approved yourself after manipulation | You (main rule) | Entire amount | – |
| Credit card purchase not delivered / bankruptcy | Bank co-liable (§ 2-7) | Credit amount | At first convenient opportunity |
Did others use your card, or did you approve it yourself?
The decisive difference is whether the payment was unauthorized, or whether you yourself clicked "approve". This is where most cases are decided.
If your card or BankID was misused by others without valid consent, the bank bears the loss beyond the egenandel. But if you approved the payment yourself after being manipulated – typically investment or romance fraud – the main rule is that you bear the loss.
This is not a small detail. Of 384 million kr that was defrauded through account transfers in the second half of 2025, 282 million (around 73 %) were in cases where the victim was manipulated into performing the payment themselves (Finanstilsynet, per 4 May 2026). Recognizing fraud early is therefore your best protection.
There is one important exception. If you were tricked into thinking you were saving your own money to a "safe account", the payment can be considered not approved – then the bank bears the loss anyway. In a case at Finansklagenemnda (FinKN 2024-309), a woman got back nearly 400 000 kr after such a "safe account" fraud. But the decision was uncertain. This is a narrow loophole, not a guarantee.
The bank must refund quickly – and cannot judge you yourself
If you dispute an unauthorized payment, the bank shall refund the amount immediately and no later than the end of the next working day (Financial Agreements Act § 4-32). This is called the bank's refund obligation.
On its own, the bank can only withhold the egenandel of 450 kr. If it wants to hold you liable for more, it must within four weeks either refund, sue you or bring the matter to Finansklagenemnda. If the bank does none of these, it loses the right to withhold the money. Assessing gross negligence is not the bank's job – it belongs to independent bodies (Forbrukertilsynet, 2022).
The deadline: report without undue delay
Report to the bank without undue delay after you discover the fraud – and at the latest 13 months after the amount was withdrawn (§ 4-24). The faster you notify, the stronger your position. Do it in writing, so you have documentation in the case.
This is what you do first
In the minutes after you discover the fraud, every second counts. Here's how to proceed:
- Call the bank and block your card, account and BankID immediately. Use the bank's own 24-hour number or app. Common blocking phone is 800 30 250 (+47 2221 4055 from abroad).
- Stop further payments in mobile or online banking (Card → Block card).
- Dispute the transaction in writing to the bank without undue delay.
- Report to police at anmeldelse.politiet.no under "Report fraud". The report is important documentation in the bank case.
- Appeal to Finansklagenemnda if the bank says no.
Did you pay with a credit card? Then you have double protection
If you paid for a product or service with a credit card, the bank is co-liable together with the seller if the product never arrives, is defective, or the seller goes bankrupt (Financial Agreements Act § 2-7). This is called credit card chargeback.
You must appeal to both seller and bank at the first convenient opportunity. With ordinary Visa or Mastercard debit cards, the same option often exists through the card company's rules (typically up to 120 days – a card company rule, not law). Pure BankAxept cards are exempt.
The bank said no – appeal for free to Finansklagenemnda
If the bank says no, you can appeal for free to Finansklagenemnda (FinKN, an independent complaint body for financial cases). Processing costs nothing for consumers.
You must appeal in writing to the bank first – FinKN only handles completed cases, and only for consumers. The appeal is sent via form at finkn.no, not by email. The statements are not legally binding, but banks follow them almost always. If a bank does not follow a statement in your favor, it covers your costs if you take the matter further to court. In 2025, the consumer received full or partial support in 27.3 % of the most serious cases that went all the way to the board – and many cases are resolved in the consumer's favor already at the bank. If the board does not help, you can take the matter further in the forliksrådet.
New in 2026
Manipulation fraud is now the greatest threat, and the law is changing – but for now it is the Financial Agreements Act that applies. Throughout 2025, 962 million kr was defrauded through account transfers and cards in Norway (Finanstilsynet, per 4 May 2026).
A fresh Supreme Court judgment (HR-2026-1359-A, 17 June 2026) held a man fully liable for sharing his BankID. But the judgment concerns an agreement from 2018, before today's law came into force. Under today's law, the cap of 12 000 kr applies for gross negligence, so do not be frightened by the headlines. The EU is also preparing new rules (PSD3/PSR) that are to strengthen protection when someone impersonates the bank, but they are not yet Norwegian law.
Many of these rules are curriculum for the society knowledge test. At SamfunnPrep you can practice for free and test what you know in our tools. The better you know your rights, the safer you stand if bad luck strikes.
