A section of users on the internet claimed that a glitch on Google Pay resulted in their bank accounts being credited amounts ranging from USD 10 to USD 1,000 (around ₹80,000). However, the UPI platform, after identifying the error, later reversed the payments wherever possible.
In situations where users had already utilised the extra amount or Google Pay was unable to rectify the error, the company said that the money will not be debited.
A Twitter user – Mishaal Rahman – detailed how he got $46 from Google Pay, which was later reversed. Rahman mentioned that Google notified that it had deposited the amount for ‘dogfooding’. The term refers to staff workers testing out a new feature of their company before it is made available to the public.
He wrote, “Google Pay seems to just be randomly giving users free money right now. I just opened Google Pay and saw that I have $46 in “rewards” that I got “for dogfooding the Google Pay Remittance experience.””
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In follow up tweets, Rahman guided users to the ‘deals’ tab to check if they had received the same ‘rewards’ as him. The user shared the screenshot of an email received from Google acknowledging the mistake and informing that the issue was resolved. “You received this email because an unintended cash credit was deposited to your Google Payaccount…where possible, the credit has been reversed. If we were not able to reverse the credit, the money is yours to keep. No further action is necessary,” it read.
He also shared a link to a subreddit where a bunch of users shared experiences and screenshots of receiving extra funds from Google. One user claimed that their account received nearly ₹88,000.
Another user wrote on Reddit, “I chatted Google as soon as it started rolling in for me. They advised they were aware and the issue would be resolved in 24-48 hours. Appears to be a big mishap on their part.”
Twitter CEO Elon Musk also reacted to a news report on the same and wrote, “Noice.”
