On the evening of October 30, a mistaken bank transfer occurred at a MIXUE store in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A Cambodian woman who only needed to pay 22,000 riel, or about US$5.50, mistakenly transferred US$22,000 into the store’s account, nearly 4,000 times the intended payment.
The incident took place at the MIXUE One Tree store near the AEON 2 shopping mall in Phnom Penh. After noticing that the amount was wrong, the anxious customer immediately asked staff to contact the owner.
After being notified, the Chinese owner, Mr Wu, quickly returned to the store and refunded the full US$22,000 through an ABA Bank transfer. From discovery of the problem to completion of the refund, the process took about half an hour.
Mr Wu said the customer was very emotional after receiving the refund and may not have expected the problem to be resolved so quickly.
Speaking about the incident, Mr Wu said running a business in Cambodia was not easy. Rent, staff wages and ingredients all involved substantial costs, and US$22,000 was no small amount for an ordinary business owner.
However, he believed honesty should come first in business. If a customer transferred money by mistake, it should be returned promptly, rather than treating someone else’s error as one’s own income.
The incident also serves as a reminder to consumers in Cambodia to check the amount and currency carefully when making payments by scanning bank QR codes, paying particular attention to the difference between US dollars and riel to avoid financial losses caused by mistakes.