Man accidentally pays 147,000 yuan for two steamed buns

A man from central China mistakenly transferred 147,258 yuan (US$23,142) to a shop owner when he paid for two steamed buns using Alipay over a month ago. 

The full amount was returned to the man at a local police station on May 9, although he didn't initially realize the money was even missing, Xinhua news agency reported.

The shop owner of the franchised bun outlet has also been awarded 5,000 yuan by its parent company for his honesty.

He Liuzhu from Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, discovered the extra 147,000 yuan of business revenue when he did his monthly accounts on May 2.

He found one of his customers had made a mistake while paying his bill and reckoned he might have input his password instead of the buns' price.

The shop owner had to ask media for help since the customer hadn’t attempted to contact him.

The customer, Han Hongwei, didn’t notice the abnormal payment from his account until Alipay staff reached out to him. He thought it was a prank call at first. 

The cash was returned after local police verified the pair's transfer records and identities.