Forum: Funds transferred through PayLah! went to different person
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Recently, my colleagues and I were transferring funds to a co-worker using her mobile number. Some of us used PayLah!, not knowing she did not have a DBS Bank account and therefore, no PayLah!.
Yet, the mobile number was still recognised and our funds were successfully transferred to someone else.
When we made the transfer, a name had appeared in small caps and we did not realise it did not belong to our co-worker. It was not a familiar name, and we assumed it was a nickname or a middle name that we did not know she had.
Each of us had to report the matter separately to DBS. But even after speaking to the bank, we were not able to determine conclusively what happened. We can only guess that the person the money went to had either registered the wrong mobile number, or used to hold my co-worker’s phone number before it was recycled or reassigned.
We were also taken aback to learn that any recovery of funds depends on the recipient’s willingness to return them. Thankfully, we eventually got the money back.
We had always regarded PayLah! as a convenient and secure mode of transaction. But we have now learnt that the bank does not check when mobile numbers are recycled or reassigned to another user.
The bank explained that mobile-number recycling is beyond its control. While this may be true from a telecommunications perspective, it should not absolve financial institutions of the responsibility to ensure their systems are secure.
Pamela Ng
