New York Laws
Part 2 - Issue and Acceptance of Payment Order
4-A-208 - Misdescription of Intermediary Bank or Beneficiary's Bank.

(1) This subsection applies to a payment order identifying an
intermediary bank or the beneficiary's bank only by an identifying
number.
(a) The receiving bank may rely on the number as the proper
identification of the intermediary or beneficiary's bank and
need not determine whether the number identifies a bank.
(b) The sender is obliged to compensate the receiving bank for
any loss and expenses incurred by the receiving bank as a
result of its reliance on the number in executing or
attempting to execute the order.
(2) This subsection applies to a payment order identifying an
intermediary bank or the beneficiary's bank both by name and an
identifying number if the name and number identify different persons.
(a) If the sender is a bank, the receiving bank may rely on the
number as the proper identification of the intermediary or
beneficiary's bank if the receiving bank, when it executes
the sender's order, does not know that the name and number
identify different persons. The receiving bank need not
determine whether the name and number refer to the same
person or whether the number refers to a bank. The sender is
obliged to compensate the receiving bank for any loss and
expenses incurred by the receiving bank as a result of its
reliance on the number in executing or attempting to execute
the order.
(b) If the sender is not a bank and the receiving bank proves
that the sender, before the payment order was accepted, had
notice that the receiving bank might rely on the number as
the proper identification of the intermediary or
beneficiary's bank even if it identifies a person different
from the bank identified by name, the rights and obligations
of the sender and the receiving bank are governed by
paragraph (a) of subsection (2), as though the sender were a
bank. Proof of notice may be made by any admissible evidence.
The receiving bank satisfies the burden of proof if it proves
that the sender, before the payment order was accepted,
signed a writing stating the information to which the notice
relates.
(c) Regardless of whether the sender is a bank, the receiving
bank may rely on the name as the proper identification of the
intermediary or beneficiary's bank if the receiving bank, at
the time it executes the sender's order, does not know that
the name and number identify different persons. The receiving
bank need not determine whether the name and number refer to
the same person.
(d) If the receiving bank knows that the name and number identify
different persons, reliance on either the name or the number
in executing the sender's payment order is a breach of the
obligation stated in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of
Section 4-A-302.