In what can only be described as the most efficient buzzkill in recent fintech history, Tabby, the buy-now-pay-later outfit, managed to hand out imaginary Dh5,000 Emirates flight vouchers to a bunch of hopeful customers before yanking them back with the digital equivalent of a whoopsie-daisy. The email landed Friday morning, teasing winners with requests for delivery details and Emirates ID, only for reality to crash the party shortly after. Turns out it was all an error, the kind that leaves you wondering if the company’s raffle system needs a coffee break or a complete overhaul.
The promotion had run from May 20 to June 21, letting users qualify with a modest Dh500 spend on their account card. Simple enough on paper. Yet somehow the winning notification went wide, sparking brief celebrations across Dubai living rooms and WhatsApp groups. One resident, Rob Scott, 38, was already mentally packing for Glasgow when the correction email arrived just over an hour later. He had even double-checked it wasn’t a scam — wise move in these parts — before the dream dissolved. Social media lit up with the familiar mix of disbelief and dark humour that follows such public face-plants, turning what could have been a nice customer gesture into prime meme material.
Tabby issued the expected statement, sounding appropriately sheepish. They closed the form, promised to delete any data submitted, and kicked off a review to figure out how the email slipped through. “We understand why this is upsetting,” they noted, which is corporate-speak for “yes, we know we got your hopes up and then drop-kicked them.” Fair point on the trust angle, though. When an official email from your financial app promises free flights, you tend to believe it — until you don’t.
This little episode shines a spotlight on the growing pains of the deferred-payment scene in the UAE. These platforms have woven themselves into everyday spending with promises of flexibility, but they also rely on slick automated systems that occasionally go rogue. It’s not exactly groundbreaking drama in the grand history of marketing mishaps — remember those airline seat glitches or lottery ticket glitches of yore? — yet it stings because it involves real people planning real trips. The swift apology and data safeguards deserve credit for damage control, but one can’t help chuckling at the irony: a company built on convenient payments accidentally delivering the ultimate inconvenient truth.
Better luck next time guys!
