Page Seven / La Paz
Has it ever happened to you that when making the payment with a debit or credit card, the sales terminal (POS) machine stopped due to some communication or internet failure in the business, but a double payment appeared in your account? It happened to several people, but the return of the excess debit can take several days and with paperwork.
The POS are the devices that serve to recognize the card, write down the key and that the business can subtract the payment for a product or service from the bank account of the interested party.
Gonzalo Chávez, economist and professor of Masters for Development at the Bolivian Catholic University (UCB), had this problem when he made the payment for the purchase of medicines in a pharmacy.
He explained that the operation was carried out via the Enlace Network but the device “entered a kind of loop” in a first payment attempt and was not charged, but in a second operation the machine worked.
Through his mobile banking he verified that there was a double charge within a minute and the pharmacy cleared the problem and asked him to call the Enlace Network from where he was referred to the bank where he has savings.
“The bank confirms that there were two payments. But he tells the client that a claim will be made that will take nine days and that afterwards they would only refund the money if it were the case, “he added.
Chávez pointed out that they finally returned the money to him earlier, but observed that the procedure to be followed for the return takes so long, since in other countries, if this occurs, the refund is immediate. “The national financial system boasts that it is modernized and has secure electronic financial transaction systems. Security is a key element in this type of transaction. But the double charge appears. The three companies transfer the problem to the client ”, he indicated.
The journalist Mavi Ortiz faced a similar problem in a pharmacy on Hernando Siles avenue when she needed to buy medicines worth less than 50 Bolivianos and paid with a card. “The problem is that the debit came out in my Mobile Banking, but not in the pharmacy’s POS; I ended up paying twice, since the savings account had less money, “he said.
At the pharmacy they told him that he had to get the money back at the bank with a letter, but faced with the angry complaint, they ended up solving the problem after a few minutes.
“I don’t think it’s just a POS problem, the internet is bad, sometimes transactions are slow and that causes failures. The problem is that when you make the purchase and the money does not arrive, but they have already debited your account, they make you write a letter to the bank to get the money back or see the problem. They make you assume a responsibility that is not yours, “he said.
Other people knowing these cases also indicated that they suffered double charges for a problem with the POS device, but after showing the bank receipts they were able to refund the money in the businesses where they made the payment with the debit card. “With the bank receipt it is shown that there was a double charge and that should be enough for them to return the money charged in excess,” said another citizen,
“The double charge for the machine also happened to me, but I went to the bank, made the claim and they returned me,” added another person. “It seems to be common, it happened to me in a supermarket in Cochabamba. They did not make the payment because that moment was verified in their detail and the cashier told me to be attentive to receive my monthly detail because it happens frequently. It’s because of the connection, sometimes it gets lost ”, said another person.
A former ASFI official said that by regulation there are five days for entities to make the refund, but the regulator must evaluate the number of claims in this regard and see that the refund is more agile.
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Payments The number of transactions with electronic cards in 2020 increased by 13%, reaching 48.5 million transactions, while the amount processed was Bs 10,977 million, 11% lower than in 2019. Of the total number of transactions processed, 78 % corresponds to debit card transactions and 22% to credit card transactions, according to the BCB.
