Retailers stop accepting i-chqs dining
vouchers
SINGAPORE: Retailers have stopped accepting i-chqs, leaving
thousands of those holding the dining vouchers in the lurch.
Up until Friday, i-chqs had effectively been legal tender, with
over 250 restaurants accepting them at face value with an
equivalent Singdollar value.
But after news broke on Thursday that i-chq issuer Indigoz Exchange
is under investigation by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD),
the vouchers are, for the time being, worthless.
Indigoz Exchange first came on the retail scene in September 2000
when it launched its rewards programme.
The scheme expanded to include credit card companies, banks,
insurers and retail outlets.
Customers of these could redeem their accumulated rewards points
for i-chqs which in turn are redeemable at more than 250
restaurants island-wide.
The i-chqs have since become popular with diners as they can be
bought over-the-counter at 7-Eleven and SingPost outlets at a
discount to its "stored value".
As recently as the Christmas season, 7-Eleven, for example, was
promoting them aggressively at a 40 percent discount.
NETS, which distributes the vouchers to 7-Eleven, said on Friday
that it was monitoring the CAD's probe.
SingPost suspended the sale of i-chqs on Friday, advising existing
holders to wait for further developments in the case.
The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), meanwhile, has also
advised holders to wait for further notice.
CASE president Yeo Guat Kwang said: "If the vouchers are rejected
by the restaurants, customers can actually take up their case with
the Small Claims Tribunal against the i-chq company. But I think
more importantly, for cases like this, they have to be handled
carefully because I'm worried if we have more and more such cases,
it will tarnish the consumer confidence in Singapore."
As for the vendors, most distanced themselves from Indigoz when
contacted by Channel NewsAsia.
Many restaurants have stopped accepting the vouchers, including
popular eating chain Crystal Jade.
OCBC Bank said it had not been giving out i-chqs since last June
and had contacted Indigoz to remove its logo from its
website.
Only HSBC said it would refund the i-chqs it gave out as an act of
goodwill to its customers.
Indigoz is a company that the Economic Development Board (EDB)
invested in back in 2002 under its SEEDS programme.
EDB owns a 10 percent stake but when contacted by Channel NewsAsia,
it said it was unable to comment as the investigations were
ongoing. - CNA