Discory Treats Its Clients As Jokes — They Lack Urgency And The Ability To Provide Solutions Unless You Tailgate Them

Discovery Bank does not take its clients seriously when it comes to international payments.

On 2 August, I made an international payment to a beneficiary in Thailand at KasikornBank. Before the payment was even rejected, the beneficiary told me that KasikornBank had specifically instructed that my bank (Discovery) call them directly, so the two banks could liaise, clear up any discrepancies, and confirm the payment details were correct before releasing the funds.

Discovery took its time and failed to make this call promptly. On 11 August, KasikornBank gave a final deadline: if Discovery did not call to confirm the payment details that day, the funds would be reversed. Discovery only called after hours — past KasikornBank's working hours — and as a direct result, my payment was rejected.

To make matters worse, my case was handed to a banker in the payments department who, I was later told, was going on annual leave. Every time I called, I was told this banker was handling my case but was now on leave. When I asked how they could assign a new, time-sensitive case to someone about to go on leave, I was told the banker "hadn't been on leave yet" at the time. That doesn't hold up — annual leave has to be pre-approved and requested well in advance, so Discovery would have known this banker's leave dates before handing them my case.

After the rejection, I called Discovery, and they confirmed the payment had been rejected. The beneficiary told me that KasikornBank had reversed the payment and was waiting on confirmation. Discovery, in turn, told me they were waiting for HSBC — Discovery's correspondent bank — to confirm receipt. I have yet to get any response or clarity on this from Discovery's side.

A few days later, when the funds still hadn't been returned to my account, I called Discovery again for an update. I was told the beneficiary bank still had my funds on hold, and that Discovery had emailed them but received no response. I reminded them — again — that KasikornBank is slow to respond by email, and asked them to call instead. Discovery said they would email KasikornBank again and wait for a response. I asked for an update by Friday; they told me I'd have one by Thursday.

On the Thursday, Discovery had no update. Their system still showed the beneficiary bank holding my funds.

On a later call, I was told Discovery had tried to liaise with KasikornBank again on 17 August at 7pm — and, unsurprisingly, received no response, since that's after KasikornBank's working hours. I asked, again, for them to call instead. They said they would "try" to call. This is telling: the only time I actually got a real response from KasikornBank was the very first time Discovery called them at 7am — well within business hours. Since then, Discovery has not called again, only emailed, despite knowing email doesn't work with this bank.

It has now been a month, and my money is effectively floating with no clear status or location.

Discovery also promised to send me the payment tracking details so I could follow the transaction myself. I work in cybersecurity, so reading payment tracking and transaction data is well within my ability — I don't need it simplified. Despite this, they have refused to send me the tracking details.

I'm genuinely frustrated, as a Discovery Bank client, that Discovery seems to take advantage of the fact that they have no physical branches. Because clients can't walk in and demand answers in person, it feels like they can sit on cases without any real accountability. I'm now deeply stressed, because I don't even know where my funds are. If Discovery cannot retrieve my funds even after KasikornBank confirmed the money reflected on their end for a three-day window, whose responsibility is that, if not Discovery's?

If this matter is not resolved, I will be taking it to the Ombudsman, and they will have to solve it on my behalf. I don't understand how a bank can be this *********** when it comes to its clients — and I know I'm not the first person to raise this. If Discovery cannot properly manage international payments, they should shut the service down entirely, because as it stands, it's not fit for purpose. Every complaint I've seen online about Discovery Bank has been about international payments going wrong in the exact same way. No one calls you back. No one gives you an update unless you chase them yourself. They don't investigate deeper unless pushed — it's as if you have to teach them how to do their own job.

I am utterly disgusted and appalled by the way Discovery Bank has handled my case.