SINGAPORE: Chocolate Finance customers looking to withdraw their funds face a shorter wait of three to six business days instead of the 10-day timeframe that was earlier announced, the company said on Tuesday evening (Mar 11).

Concerns about the financial services platform emerged after it suspended instant fund withdrawals on Monday due to “high demand”, adding that withdrawals would take three to 10 working days before they are reflected in users’ bank accounts.

Chocolate Finance founder Walter de Oude later said that the withdrawal issues can be traced back to customers “gaming” its miles reward system.

In an email update on Tuesday, the company said shorter wait time of three to six business days wait follows “the usual industry practice”.

“Like most asset managers, the underlying funds we invest in typically follow a three to six business-day withdrawal cycle,” the financial services platform said.

Until now, the company has been able to offer instant withdrawals up to S$20,000 “through our unique liquidity programme”, Chocolate Finance said.

According to the company, it fronts withdrawals from its own funds first before getting reimbursed when the funds settle.

“That said, when we get a spike in withdrawals, we pause this programme and let funds settle in the same way your withdrawals above S$20,000 usually do,” the company added.

S$250 PER TRANSACTION LIMIT

Chocolate Finance has also temporarily implemented a S$250 per transaction spending limit on its debit card “to help us manage the liquidity programme”, it said in its email.

Card transactions were initially paused on Monday.

“We’ve also made slight adjustments to where you can use your card – specifically, transactions made on AXS and e-wallet top-ups are no longer supported,” the platform said, adding that this would help keep its HeyMax miles earning programme running.