Have you ever wondered what would happen if, in a rush, you mistakenly typed $7.50 as $750 at your favourite chicken rice hawker stall?
This is precisely what occurred when a “generous” customer intended to purchase a $7.50 roast meat rice.
You: No way, did he actually use PayNow to send $750?
Indeed, which is why we should never underestimate the significance of the petite decimal point.
On 12 Dec, Mr Victor Ng, the 48-year-old proprietor of Wang Fu Roasted Delight, was surprised to receive a Nets notification for $750.
Upon investigating, it appeared to be from a customer who likely intended to order the $7.50 wanton noodle set, not $750.
At this point, had the customer even realised their mistake?
Regardless, the honest stall owner wasted no time. He promptly turned to social media, posting on his business’s Facebook page to locate the owner of the funds.
Additionally, Mr Ng shared the incident on groups like Hawkers United, where many users commended his integrity.
Mr Ng admitted that neither he nor his staff could recall the specific customer, given the high volume of orders that day.
Not stopping at social media, he immediately contacted Nets.
They advised him to wait for the customer’s return for a refund.
Initially, Mr Ng considered donating the money to charity, aligning with Wang Fu’s tradition of supporting community organisations.
His unwavering intention to use the money solely for charitable purposes is indeed commendable.
However, Nets informed him that he must hold the funds for seven days before returning them to Nets.
Since PayNow’s introduction in 2017, more eateries and hawker centres have adopted this cashless transaction method, minimising the need for physical cash.
Today, virtually every hawker store offers the “PayNow” option.
Such unintentional large transfers are not rare, especially since many apps require users to manually input the decimal point, unlike some banks’ apps, like OCBC’s, which automatically include it.
For example, earlier in April, a woman accidentally paid $4450 instead of $44.50 to a Tampines hawker, on her first PayNow usage. Oh dear.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, a Nets spokeswoman responded to The Straits Times advising such people to contacting their issuing bank or wallet provider, not Nets.
Nets will collaborate with the bank or wallet service to facilitate the refund from the merchant to the customer.