Citigroup Mistakenly Credits Customer With $81 Trillion in Payment Error

A routine transaction at Citigroup took an unexpected turn when a staggering $81 trillion was mistakenly added to a customer’s account instead of the intended $280.

The massive blunder, linked to a rarely used payment system, resulted from an employee failing to correct a field containing 15 pre-filled zeros.

The error, which affected an account in Brazil, remained undetected for several hours before being flagged by a third employee.

The bank has since confirmed that internal controls swiftly identified the mistake, ensuring that no funds were actually transferred out.

Regulators, including the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, were informed of the incident.

This isn’t the first time Citigroup has faced such an issue—internal reports indicate that the bank experienced at least ten other significant transaction errors in 2024 alone, each involving sums exceeding $1 billion.