Singapore-based fintech firm Chocolate Finance has temporarily suspended instant fund withdrawals due to “high demand”, according to a notice to customers.
“We’re currently experiencing high demand. Instant withdrawals are temporarily paused, but you can still withdraw your funds,” the notice reads.
The fintech firm, established by the former Singlife founder and group chief executive officer Walter de Oude, said withdrawals will now take 3-10 working days to reach the customer’s account.
Chocolate Finance previously allowed up to S$20,000 in instant withdrawals per day due to its “Chocolate Liquidity Programme”.
“We want to reassure our customers that Chocolate Finance remains a strong and stable place for your spare cash, and we are here for the long run,” the company said in a statement.
The pause, according to the company, is “not a liquidity issue but a matter of managing our increased transaction volume”.
De Oude said the instant withdrawal services will be reinstated when withdrawal requests slow down.
The suspension of instant withdrawal reportedly came after a personal finance influencer posted a YouTube video in which he explained his decision to withdraw all his funds from Chocolate Finance. He cited the company’s discontinuation of support for AXS payments as one of the reasons.
De Oude said that bill payments, particularly those made through AXS, surged “far beyond expectations,” rendering the partnership “unsustainable”.
He said the company worked with AXS to disable Chocolate Card acceptance instead of blocking all bill payments entirely. This ensured the programme’s goal of balanced rewards while keeping 2 miles per dollar on all other spend.
“But it happened so fast we communicated this change poorly,” de Oude said.
“Mistakes happen—own them, learn, and improve. All businesses, big and small, can learn from this. I certainly have and Chocolate Finance will be stronger because of it,” he added.
In an interview to CNA, De Oude said the company discovered that some customers were “gaming” its miles reward system by making big payments on AXS machines, which prompted the firm to “nip it in the bud”.
In 2022, Chocolate Finance raised $19 million in a Series A round led by Sequoia Capital India.
The round was joined by Prosus Ventures, Orion Advisors, Credit Saison, Global Founders Capital, DARA Holdings, Peak XV Partners and Ion Pacific, alongside ChocVen, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) owned by de Oude.
Top shareholders of Chocolate Finance
