Qoo10 ordered to put payment services in Singapore on hold amid outstanding claims by vendors

Beleaguered online marketplace Qoo10 has been ordered to put its payment services here on hold, due to numerous payment delays to merchants listing their wares there.

However, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) also said in a statement on the evening of Sept 23 that Qoo10 will be permitted to make payments for outstanding claims by these merchants.

MAS has directed Qoo10 to suspend providing all payment services covered under the Payment Services Act from the same day, as it has been unable to provide sufficient assurance that it had the resources and systems to meet its payment obligations to merchants in a timely manner.

This suspension does not prohibit Qoo10 from operating its e-commerce platform, but it may need to engage a third-party payment service provider for transactions on this platform, MAS said.

MAS said this comes after the authority and other government agencies received several complaints by merchants against Qoo10 for delayed payment processing on Qoo10’s e-commerce platform between April and August 2024.

“Qoo10 was asked to address these complaints, and while some were resolved, others remained outstanding.”

In early September 2024, Qoo10 informed MAS that a significant number of merchants will face payment delays.

The authority said it had engaged with the management of Qoo10 about these delays and expressed its serious concerns.

“MAS provided opportunities to Qoo10 to remedy these concerns and required the company to take steps to satisfy MAS that it would be able to meet its obligations to merchants on an ongoing basis, including engaging a third-party payment service provider to offer the covered services,” it added.

The Payment Services Act specifies a range of activities, including domestic money transfers, that payment service providers need to be issued a licence for.

However, when the law came into force in 2020, existing payment service providers could continue those services, pending the review of their licence applications by MAS, under an exemption.

“This is so that these services are not disrupted pending licensing,” MAS said.

Qoo10 is not licensed by MAS, but was one such exempted provider, the authority noted.

The authority said that it has had to carefully consider the potential disruption the suspension could cause to Qoo10’s e-commerce platform or other services that are integrated with the covered payments services.

MAS said: “However, permitting Qoo10 to continue providing covered payments services would expose more merchants using Qoo10’s covered payment services to risks of larger outstanding obligations and potential losses.

“MAS will review the suspension when Qoo10 is able to satisfy MAS of its ability to resolve the payment delays and safeguard the interest of its customers in Singapore on an ongoing basis.”

Merchants facing payment delays should raise their concerns with Qoo10, MAS added.

It said there are established processes in place to assist merchants in resolving commercial disputes, including debt recovery, should merchants’ concerns remain unresolved.

These include a civil claim with the courts.

Merchants who face cash flow difficulties because of the payment delays may contact any of the participating financial institutions listed on Enterprise Singapore’s website to apply for the Enterprise Financing Scheme (Working Capital Loan), MAS added.

Multiple vendors told The Straits Times earlier in September that thousands of dollars in sales proceeds were paid out to them late, or still owed.

Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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