Chocolate Finance suspends instant withdrawals due to ‘high demand’

[SINGAPORE] Financial services firm Chocolate Finance sought to reassure investors about its liquidity position as investors raised the alarm when it temporarily suspended instant withdrawals due to “high demand”.

A notice on its mobile app on Monday (Mar 10) that the platform was experiencing an unusually high volume of withdrawal requests quickly went viral among the online community.

Chocolate Finance launched to much fanfare last July, offering a return of up to 4.2 per cent for the first S$20,000, just as rates on the popular Treasury bills (T-bills) were dropping. The platform’s latest rate is now 3.3 per cent, which is still higher than the T-bills rate.

The Singapore-based company boasts close to S$1 billion in assets under management as at February.

The firm has made clear that the amounts are not guaranteed by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation – which protects funds in banks up to S$100,000 per account. Investors were undeniably concerned about the delay in withdrawing their funds.