'Incredibly stressful': Payment issues mar Singapore International Marathon registration
Some people said they were charged multiple times but did not get confirmation of their registration.
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SINGAPORE: The first day of sign-ups for the BYD Singapore International Marathon was marred by issues, as several people reported payment problems during registration.
Some runners who tried signing up on Monday (Apr 27) said they received a message on the website that their payments were unsuccessful, but ended up being charged by their banks.
Mr Jaymar Patana, who is from the Philippines, said that he initially thought the payment failure was due to an issue with his credit card, but received the same message after trying with a different card.
"I'm less worried about the transactions - for sure they can reverse that," said Mr Patana, who had tried to sign up for the marathon.
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"I'm more worried about my slot. I do not have assurance that I got the slot with what happened."
Registration for the marathon costs S$188 (US$147) for local runners and S$208 for international runners, while the registration fees for the half-marathon are S$168 for local runners and S$188 for international runners.
The 10km costs S$130 for local runners and S$150 for international runners.
Registration ends on Sep 30 or when slots are fully taken up. This year's event will have a cap of 52,000 participants across all race categories, the organiser earlier announced. This is a dip from the 2025 event, which drew 55,000 runners.
Ms Ella Wong, who is from Hong Kong, described the registration process as "incredibly stressful".
"I was attempting to register during a busy day at the office, and being hit with unsuccessful payment errors while simultaneously seeing my bank account being charged for those exact amounts created a lot of panic," she said.
"I wasn’t sure if I should keep trying or if I was doing something wrong."
Another runner, who declined to be named, said he repeatedly received notifications that payments had failed.
"I attempted the transaction several times using two different credit cards. In total, I made four attempts that were shown as failed, with only the final attempt marked as successful," he added.
"However, I’ve since discovered that all four 'failed' transactions were actually charged to my credit card. I’ve contacted my bank’s customer service, and they advised me to reach out to the merchant to request a refund for the duplicate charges."
Others shared similar experiences with registration on the organiser's latest Instagram post.
"Guys you need to sort this out. Money deducted multiple times, registration not successful, no way to speak to someone about this and no one answering the questions here. Not a great start," wrote one user.
"Please stop the registration till the registration/payment issue has been resolved. Such a disappointment and embarrassment for the organiser," said another person.
In an Instagram story, the organiser said it was aware of a technical issue affecting payment transactions and asked those affected to email a screenshot.
"We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and assure you that all payment issues will be promptly resolved."
Ms Wong, who tried to sign up for the 10km race, said she had been charged multiple times. She has yet to receive any confirmation.
"I am hoping for a quick resolution from the organisers to release these holds and clarify my registration status," she added.
"The organisers should act now, confirm our registrations, and void the extra transactions."
This year's event will be held from Dec 4 to Dec 6. The 5km and 10km races will take place on Dec 4 night, followed by the half-marathon on Dec 5 morning and the marathon on Dec 6 morning. Running events for children will be held on the morning of Dec 4.
The cap on the number of runners comes after complaints of crowd congestion at the finish line and along the route during the event last December.
This year's event is being organised by a new company, SG Marathon, after Ironman Asia’s decade-long contract ended. The new organiser has been appointed on a two-year term with an option to extend.
CNA has contacted the organiser for further comment on the payment and registration issues.
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