In the context of financial markets, a fat finger error is specifically an instance where the details of a buy or sell order are mistakenly entered by a trader.
[1][2][3] Automated systems within trading houses may catch fat-finger errors before they reach the market or such orders may be cancelled before they can be fulfilled.
At the NYSE, BATS, CBOT, NASDAQ, OMX and American Stock Exchange requests for review must be received "within thirty (30) minutes of execution time".
[8] At the Singapore Exchange, "the matter must be referred to SGX-ST within sixty (60) minutes from the time the error trade occurred".
[12] This explains why banks usually have to carry huge losses when clearly erroneous trades occurred that have not been detected within 30 minutes.