SINGAPORE: The problem of a 70-year-old man not being able to find the S$1,000 that he had transferred from his DBS bank account to his Revolut e-wallet has thankfully been solved, with Mothership reporting that the process has begun for the money to be returned to the account.
Shin Min Daily News had reported on Sunday (Oct 12) that the uncle had gone to Italy earlier this year in order to care for his grandson. Like many others who spend an extended amount of time abroad, he acquired an e-wallet with Revolut Technologies, so he could access money from his accounts easily.
However, the first time he moved S$1,000 from his DBS account to his e-wallet, it seemed to disappear without a trace. While the transaction had been marked as completed on the bank’s end, it did not reflect in his e-wallet, which was naturally worrisome for him.
When he reached out to Revolut’s customer service agents, even though he sent in a screenshot of the transaction, he was told by Revolut that they could not locate the inbound transfer in their system because it had yet to receive the money.
“Please note that we can only assist with transfers once they have reached our system,” reads a screenshot from a message from Revolut.
As it turns out, according to the report from Mothership, when the uncle made the transfer, he did not indicate the unique virtual account number that would have ensured a successful and immediate transfer. The report added that the funds have been traced and that Revolut has expedited its return to the man.
All’s well that ends well, but we can understand the stress the man must have felt when the transfer did not go through; S$1,000 had been deducted from his account. It can be especially difficult when using an app for the first time, particularly when one is in a different country.
What to do in cases like these?
The first thing to do, which the uncle did, is to check with the bank to see if the money you transferred has indeed been deducted from your account. It is important to note the date and time of the transfer, the reference number or transaction ID, and the account name and IBAN or sort code where it was sent.
Importantly, check and double-check that the account details are exactly the same as the ones provided by the e-wallet service for the currency you need and the country where you’ll use it.
Money can go missing when a reference number or an IBAN is wrong, when it was sent from a joint or business account that isn’t in your name, or when it was sent from the wrong currency, for example, US dollars to an account using euros.
It’s also possible that the money you transferred is still in process, as it can take one to five business days, with international transfers taking longer.
After five days and your money still isn’t there, do what the man did and reach out to customer service to let them know that the money you transferred still hasn’t arrived. Make sure you provide all the necessary information needed to trace your transaction, including the amount, date, currency, sending bank name, reference or transaction ID, and proof of payment in the form of a PDF or screenshot from your bank.
In the meantime, you can also ask your bank to trace the transaction, providing the same details. /TISG
