Google Pay users may have gotten an unexpected surprise recently, with reports of accidental cash deposits appearing in their accounts.
Android researcher Mishaal Rahman was one of the first to share details of the bug on Twitter, with some users reporting sums as high as $1,000.
The cash deposits were made via Google Pay’s “reward” program, which typically provides users with small amounts of money for participating in promotions. However, in this case, users received much larger amounts of “Reward” money, thanks to a glitch in the system.
Dogfooding money
The message accompanying the deposits seemed to indicate, in the cases of some users, that they were getting paid for “dogfooding the Google Pay Remittance experience.” The term is typically used in tech to describe pre-release software testing by internal teams or trusted partners.
However, many regular users also received the message, along with multiple payouts. Users who received the cash later got an email from the Google Pay team explaining that there had been an error and that the unintended credit had been deposited to their account. The email reassured users that any credit that couldn’t be reversed would be theirs to keep.
Google is aware and will resolve the issue
Google also emphasized that no further action was necessary and that they had no intention of chasing down individual users who had spent or transferred the money. The glitch highlights the importance of using secure and reliable payment systems, like Google Pay, for financial transactions.
While the unexpected windfall was undoubtedly welcome news for some users, others may have been left wondering whether the error could be repeated in the future and the consequences.
For now, Google Pay users can rest assured that the company is aware of the issue and is taking steps to prevent it from happening again.
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