PayNow’s anti-scam measure of censoring display names leaves Singapore man named Sean with censored and obscene name of ‘SEXX’
A Singapore tutor has gone viral on Reddit after claiming that a recent PayNow name-censoring measure has left him in a rather awkward position.
PayNow’s anti-scam measure has transformed his name from “Sean” into the rather unfortunate display name of “SEXX”.
The post, which quickly gained traction online, was shared by the private tutor on the sub-Reddit r/mildlyinfuriating last Sunday (7 June).
“I work as a tutor and parents pay me directly,” he said in the post.
Source: r/mildlyinfuriating on Reddit
The caption read: “Cannot wait to explain to everyone why they need to pay SEXX.”
Parent first noticed PayNow name change
Speaking to MS News, Sean said he only became aware of the issue after a parent attempted to transfer payment to him.
The 21-year-old National University of Singapore (NUS) student said that the parent noticed that “the name seemed different from last time”.
That was when he received a screenshot of his name appearing as “SEXX”.
“I’ve had to explain the situation to about five parents,” Sean told MS News.
He mentioned that some remained professional while others laughed it off.
Fortunately, Sean noted he does not expect the issue to affect his tutoring work.
Source: UOB
Bank allegedly told him nothing could be done
According to Sean, he contacted his bank after discovering the issue.
However, he claimed that the staff informed him there was little they could do.
“I contacted the bank and explicitly stated my name was ‘SEXX’ under the new system, and the staff said there’s nothing they can do as it is government policy.”
For illustration purposes only
Sean suggested displaying his full name instead, but he was told there was “nothing [the bank staff] could do”.
Other users report similar experiences
The anti-scam measure has affected some of his friends, too.
“Some of my friends experienced a similar issue as they have a Chinese name (think Xi) and it’s just XX under the new system,” Sean told MS News.
Screenshots circulating online also appeared to show another user, Jeremy See, having his name awkwardly displayed.
Source: Jeremy See on Facebook
Other MS News readers also saw their censored names transform into potentially obscene terms.
Picture courtesy of MS News reader
Wrote disclaimer to parents beforehand
To avoid surprising clients, Sean said he now proactively warns parents before they make payments.
“I did voluntarily write a message explaining the situation to the parents so they won’t be surprised when they have to PayNow to ‘SEXX’,” he said.
Despite the hassle and awkwardness, he has tried to see the funny side of things.
“When I shared the story with my family and friends, they found it quite funny.”
Wanted to tell MP before posting on Reddit
Sean said he initially considered raising the matter with a Member of Parliament (MP).
Instead, he chose to share it online.
“Originally, I wanted to tell my MP, but I did think that was too big a reaction, so I resorted to Reddit as I’d like to get the word out there locally.”
He added that his original post in the r/SGExams subreddit was eventually removed despite gaining traction.
Source: r/SingaporeRaw on Reddit
Calls for review of name-censoring system
Sean said he understands the rationale behind the anti-scam measure but believes more testing could have been done before implementing it country-wide.
Picture courtesy of MS News reader
He added: “Let’s not punish the 99% of people who use PayNow for the ease and convenience of the system.”
In response to media enquiries from MS News, Mrs Ong-Ang Ai Boon, Director of The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), noted that she is aware of the incident.
Not all PayNow-related systems across our 29 participating institutions currently support special characters, so a letter was used instead.
She went on to mention that the letter ‘X’ was chosen as it is “widely recognised as a symbol for something concealed or missing, and visually resembles a cross-out mark”.
The director also emphasised that ABS used this approach to “swiftly disable a tool being exploited by scammers while maintaining a smooth PayNow experience”.
ABS seeks customers’ understanding on the matter and will continue reviewing feedback for future improvements, she said.
Also read: TikToker questions PayNow nickname removal, says feature helped him identify scams
TikToker questions PayNow nickname removal, says feature helped him identify scams
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Featured image adapted from r/mildlyinfuriating on Reddit and courtesy of MS News readers.
