‘So erotic sia’: PayNow’s masked name feature turns users’ names into ‘NSFW’ monikers
As PayNow’s new name-censoring feature rolls out, some users have discovered that their partially hidden names look more sensual or awkward than expected.
From June 6, users could no longer customise their display names. Instead, transactions reflect names registered with the bank, with certain letters replaced by “X”.
As the new practice kicked in, some users discovered their new display names appearing rather suggestive.
Content creator Jeremy See shared a screenshot of his name censored as “JERXXX SEX”, saying: “My entire family’s surname just became NSFW” — short for “not safe for work”.
Another PayNow user shared his frustrations on the mildlyinfuriating subreddit, garnering over 6,200 upvotes.
The user, named “Sean”, claimed that he works as a tutor and receives payments directly from his students’ parents. However, PayNow now displays his name as “SEXX”.
“Cannot wait to explain to everyone why they need to pay SEXX,” he wrote.
A Facebook user named Ron Foo shared that his PayNow display name appeared as “FOX SEX POX”, much to his amusement: “Nowadays bank mask name till like that. My name becomes so erotic sia.”
One Redditor also pointed out that the censoring appeared ineffective for common Malay names such as Muhammad, as the full name could still be easily deciphered.
Netizens suggest alternative censoring methods
Netizens suggested replacing the “X”s with asterisks to prevent accidental innuendos, though some responded that certain database systems may not be able to interpret the symbol correctly.
According to the Association of Banks in Singapore, which oversees the PayNow scheme, scammers could previously exploit the username feature by changing it to the name of an established entity or trusted individual, tricking a user to transfer money to fraudulent accounts.
The new measure ensures scammers cannot masquerade as others.
“Imagine someone with the name See Woon Ker, become a Sex Woxx Kex,” one Facebook user joked.
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