DBS promises auto refunds for those hit by double-charge glitch
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Many DBS customers said they were unable to log in to their accounts through its mobile app (above) or Internet banking portal, which had warned users of heavy traffic to the site and advised logging in later.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM APP
DBS Bank customers have flagged a glitch in the lender's banking services, with several of them saying that they were charged twice for transactions made on credit and debit cards.
DBS, Singapore's largest bank, said in a Facebook post yester-day that it is fixing the technical issue that caused the duplicate transactions on certain debit and credit cards.
Affected customers will be refunded automatically by tomorrow, it added.
In response to media queries, a DBS spokesman said the bank has discovered a payment processing glitch, which resulted in duplicate transactions on some debit and credit cards.
"The issue has been resolved and we would like to assure all customers that our systems remain safe, secure and uncompromised.
"The automatic refund process is now under way and will be completed by this weekend.
"We apologise for any undue anxiety and inconvenience caused," said the spokesman.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it has instructed DBS to conduct a thorough investigation of the inci-dent and submit a report to the central bank.
"Supervisory actions will be taken if the bank has fallen short of MAS' expectations," an MAS spokesman told The Straits Times.
"MAS takes a serious view of this incident.
"We expect all financial institutions to put in place processes to ensure the reliability of their IT systems and the effective delivery of financial services to their customers," said the spokesman.
Many users said they were unable to log in to their accounts through the bank's mobile app or Internet banking portal.
The bank's Internet banking portal had warned users of heavy traffic to the site and advised logging in later.
One of the customers double-charged for the same transaction was housewife Asyura Irfan.
The 37-year-old told ST that she was charged $11.70 twice for a transaction with Grab on Tuesday, while her husband had $29 deducted twice from his account for a Giant supermarket purchase on Monday.
They use POSB debit cards.
Her mother was charged $54 twice for a purchase on booking platform Klook made using a POSB debit card, she added.
The amount for the purchase on Tuesday was deducted on Thursday, but another deduc-tion was made yesterday for the same buy.
"I am unable to log in to the POSB app," Madam Asyura said yesterday morning.
Ms Sylvia Lee, 31, said she was charged $38.50 twice for activewear she purchased with her DBS debit card from Tangs department store on Thursday.
The amount was debited from her account on the same day, but she realised it was deducted again yesterday morning.
She tried in vain to call two of the bank's hotlines, and could not log in to the bank's mobile banking app from about 10.30am.
"Thankfully, it was not a large amount, but it is still money," said Ms Lee, who works in the attractions and food and beverage sectors.
Several customers said on DBS' Facebook page that they were also unable to get through to the bank's customer service hotline.
A message also circulated online claiming that POSB digibank online's security had been breached, and urged customers not to log in to the Internet banking platform.
DBS said that the message is false and its system remains safe.
