Glitch hits BookMyForex

Affected users have filed cybercrime complaints and are awaiting refunds; replacement cards are being issued

- Subhana Shaikh & Shayan Ghosh

Some users reported only declined transaction messages, while others alleged actual fund losses in dollars and AED.

(ISTOCKPHOTO)

At 3:50 am on a quiet Kolkata morning, 35-year-old numerologist Vivek Baid woke up to a string of notifications that would upend his day.

One message became two, then three. By 4 am, he had received eight transaction alerts for his forex card. All eight, he said, were successful.

"My money was being deducted in front of my eyes," Baid said.

The deductions, he said, totalled around ₹1,45,000. The amounts were debited in United Arab Emirates Dirham, the currency loaded on his Yes Bank-BookMyForex multi-currency prepaid forex card, but the transactions reflected in Brazilian real. He has since filed a complaint with the cybercrime authorities.

The card was launched in August 2019 as a co-branded multi-currency prepaid forex card by BookMyForex, in partnership with Yes Bank, on the Visa network. Yes Bank’s website adds that the card has been developed in collaboration with M2P, a fintech company based in Chennai.

It was marketed as a seamless solution for international travellers, allowing them to load multiple foreign currencies onto a single card. Baid is among a group of customers who found their forex cards used at grocery stores and other locations in Brazil, and received little help when they tried to reach Book MyForex customer service or Yes Bank.