Travellers face inconvenience as currency exchange and top-up functions go offline
Users of YouTrip, a popular multi-currency payment platform, faced significant disruptions on Wednesday (Jul 13) due to a server outage. The issue, which started at 11:41 am SGT, prevented customers from topping up their accounts or converting currencies via the app, causing frustration, especially among travellers relying on the platform for overseas transactions.
Travellers Affected by Outage
One affected user, Ms Lee, an auditor vacationing in Korea, shared her experience:
“It has been 2 hours and 30 minutes since the maintenance, and we couldn’t buy anything using the card as our top-up could not go through,” she said. After waiting for 30 minutes at a store, she resorted to using her credit card, incurring higher fees.
A notice on the YouTrip app confirmed that both currency exchange and top-up functions were unavailable for users in Singapore and Thailand during the outage.
Issue Resolved After 12 Hours
By 11:47 pm on Wednesday, YouTrip announced that the technical issues had been resolved. However, intermittent delays in transaction displays were expected as the server fully recovered.
A YouTrip representative reassured users that their funds and data were secure, stating:
“All transactions will continue to be completed successfully as per normal. Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused.”
Lack of Details on User Impact
While YouTrip did not disclose the number of users affected, the outage highlighted the challenges of relying on digital platforms for seamless financial transactions, particularly for travellers.
The incident serves as a reminder of the need for backup payment methods to avoid inconvenience during such unexpected disruptions.