UPDATE 17 FEB 2025: YouTrip has removed the new clause from its terms and conditions.
UPDATE 21 Feb 2025: YouTrip has added a new (and modified) clause in its terms and conditions. In short, cardholders are liable for up to $100 of loss arising from unauthorised transactions caused by a lost or stolen YouTrip card only.
Here’s the newly-added clause:
Theft and Loss of Card.
In the event your card is lost or stolen, your liability for unauthorised card transactions relating to such loss or theft is limited to S$100 provided that:
- You lock your card within the App and call us at +65 6904 9334 immediately;
- You cooperate with our investigations and assist us in recovery of the unauthorised charges incurred;
- You provide any statutory declaration, police report, or other requested documentation that we may require from you; and
- Upon our reasonable assessment, we are satisfied that the unauthorised card transaction(s) was / were not in part or wholly due to your fraud, negligence, recklessness, or a breach of our agreement with you.
YouTrip has (quietly) updated its terms and conditions to add a S$100 deductible for unauthorised transactions on the card, even if it’s not your fault.
Old vs New terms and conditions
Here’s a side-by-side comparison of section 18 of the old and new terms and conditions. I’ve highlighted the new section in yellow.
Old T&C
18. Transactions
You’re responsible for all transactions effected with your Account regardless of whether such activity is actually carried out or authorised by you.
We shall be entitled to treat all use of or access to the Services, and any information, data, instructions or communications issued with your Account, as having been transmitted and validly issued by you, and you shall be bound by all such use and/or access.
Your intended merchant or recipient has the right to choose to accept or decline any payment method.
In the event a merchant or recipient does not accept the Card or Services as a valid payment method, we shall not be liable for any losses incurred by you as a result of the merchant or recipient’s refusal to accept such payment. Any unclaimed, refunded or declined sums will be returned to you through the original payment method within 30 days of the date you initiated payment.
Transaction notifications.
As part of our efforts to help secure your Account, you acknowledge and agree that we may provide you with notifications once every 24 hours for certain transactions performed with your Account. Please contact us immediately if any of such notified transactions were not conducted by you.
Liability for losses.
You shall be liable for all losses incurred as a result of unauthorised transactions if: + you’ve acted fraudulently; + you’ve intentionally or negligently compromised the security of your Account; or + you’ve compromised the security of your account by disclosing your Credentials to another person.
Rectifying negative balance in your Account.
You authorise us to, in the event that you fail to rectify any negative balance in your Account upon being notified by us, offset such negative balance at a time solely determined by us by (a) converting any other monies you hold in other currencies in your Account, or (b) initiating a payment transaction for the amount of the negative balance (or the equivalent in another currency) from the payment card stored on file to top up your Account.
Disputed Transactions
In the event that you raise a transaction dispute or request a chargeback in accordance with paragraph 26, we may credit you the disputed sum on a provisional basis (“Provisional Credit”) prior to the resolution of your dispute or request. If your transaction dispute or chargeback request is unsuccessful, you acknowledge and agree that we have the sole discretion to reverse the relevant Provisional Credit transaction.
New T&C
18. Transactions
You’re responsible for all transactions effected with your Account regardless of whether such activity is actually carried out or authorised by you.
We shall be entitled to treat all use of or access to the Services, and any information, data, instructions or communications issued with your Account, as having been transmitted and validly issued by you, and you shall be bound by all such use and/or access.
Your intended merchant or recipient has the right to choose to accept or decline any payment method.
In the event a merchant or recipient does not accept the Card or Services as a valid payment method, we shall not be liable for any losses incurred by you as a result of the merchant or recipient’s refusal to accept such payment. Any unclaimed, refunded or declined sums will be returned to you through the original payment method within 30 days of the date you initiated payment.
Transaction notifications.
As part of our efforts to help secure your Account, you acknowledge and agree that we may provide you with notifications once every 24 hours for certain transactions performed with your Account. Please contact us immediately if any of such notified transactions were not conducted by you.
Liability for losses.
For unauthorised transactions, you will be liable for up to S$100 provided that:
- You contact us at [email protected] as soon as reasonably possible;
- You cooperate with our investigations and assist in our attempt(s) to recover the unauthorised transaction(s);
- You provide any statutory declaration, police report, or other requested documentation that we may require from you; and
- Upon our reasonable assessment, we are satisfied that the unauthorised transaction(s) was / were not in part or wholly due to your fraud, negligence, recklessness, or a breach of our agreement with you.
You shall be liable for all losses incurred as a result of unauthorised transactions if:
- you’ve acted fraudulently;
- you’ve intentionally or negligently compromised the security of your Account; or
- you’ve compromised the security of your account by disclosing your Credentials to another person.
You authorise us to, in the event that you fail to rectify any negative balance in your Account upon being notified by us, offset such negative balance at a time solely determined by us by (a) converting any other monies you hold in other currencies in your Account, or (b) initiating a payment transaction for the amount of the negative balance (or the equivalent in another currency) from the payment card stored on file to top up your Account.
Disputed Transactions
In the event that you raise a transaction dispute or request a chargeback in
accordance with paragraph 26, we may credit you the disputed sum on a provisional
basis (“Provisional Credit”) prior to the resolution of your dispute or request. If
your transaction dispute or chargeback request is unsuccessful, you acknowledge
and agree that we have the sole discretion to reverse the relevant Provisional Credit transaction.
My take on this
The biggest flaw of debit cards is that your account balance is always immediately at risk if/when there is a fraudulent transaction on the card. However, cardholders are usually protected for the full amount of any fraudulent transaction, even if there’s a delay in getting the money returned to your account.
In fact, I encountered an unauthorised transaction on my YouTrip card just last week, for an amount of S$968. This was promptly rectified by the YouTrip team within a couple of days.
I hope there’s some wording error in there somewhere, but the new t&c implies that all cardholders are liable for up to S$100, even if they do all the necessary things to report an unauthorised/fraudulent transaction.
I’d keep my YouTrip card locked when not in use.
Edit: As brought up by members of Suitesmile Chat, most banks have a similar clause in the cardmembers agreement, with some having more lenient wording (e.g. DBS, HSBC, UOB, Citibank). This clause also covers credit cards on these banks. This looks like a clause that is not always enforced, although we’ve received feedback about DBS cardholders not receiving a refund of fraudulent transactions here and here.
