Why is the text balance different from the actual Snapper balance?
Your funds are stored electronically on your Snapper, and this always has the true, accurate balance.
The balance provided via text message is based on your transaction history updated with the transactions that the Snapper system has received so far. Sometimes however, the bus you caught today may not have been back to the bus depot yet, and that’s where they upload their data from the day. Or the shop where you bought your coffee might only upload their transactions once a day. Because of this, text transactions and balances sometimes need time to catch up.
While the “system” sometimes takes time to catch up, you can always be sure that reading the balance directly from the card is the completely up-to-date balance. If in doubt, you will always get an accurate Snapper balance on the bus or ferry, from a Snapper kiosk, or at a Snapper retailer.