Mouse Pay refers to a fictional payment method invented by TikTok creator @awesome_cheese_mouse, which he asks cashiers to use in a series of viral videos. The pranks became a sensation and morphed into a meme starting in Spring 2024, with each video reaching millions of viewers.
The trend quickly inspired similar shenanigans by TikTokers who went up to the cash register asking if the store takes “Freak Pay” or “Freakbob Pay” or “Pudgy Pay” or anything else they could come up with to confuse front-end workers.
This prank is a simple act of putting an image of an anthropomorphized mouse on a phone or tablet screen and walking up to a cashier at a shop to make a purchase, then asking them if they “take Mouse Pay.” The workers typically say “no” and leave it at that, but some of them assure the prankster that the store will likely start to take the new method of payment in the future.
The trend capitalizes on the frequency of new payment methods popping up that often irritate cashiers when customers ask about them. The classic example is Apple Pay, created by Apple Inc. and launched in 2014 to make checking out easier for iOS users.
Some retailers were slow to adopt Apple Pay, and there were sometimes technical issues when they finally did. For some time, workers and Apple customers alike complained about these problems, with cashiers in particular dreading the question “Do you take Apple Pay?”
TikTok user and mice enthusiast @awesome_cheese_mouse invented the Mouse Pay prank and posted the first video about it on May 12, 2024. This entry gained over two million views in a few months and kicked off a series of videos about Mouse Pay, whether engaging in similar pranks or referencing the trend.
@awesome_cheese_mouse Mousepay isnt accepted by UDF yet? Surprising! ???????????? #awesomecheesemouse ♬ original sound - awesome_cheese_mouse
The TikToker uses AI-generated images of anthropomorphized mice for these stunts, which he has been showing off on his account since his very first post. @awesome_cheese_mouse now shows off "Mouse of the Day" images regularly.
On June 27, 2024, the official TikTok account of the Columbus Library in Ohio participated in the Mouse Pay trend. In the clip, a patron tries to check out a stack of books and asks if the library takes "Cheese Pay," offering the librarian a slice of cheese, which only causes confusion because "the books are free."
@columbuslibrary Proud to be the first library accepting cheese pay ???? #mousepay #cheese #mice IB @awesome_cheese_mouse ♬ original sound - Columbus Metropolitan Library
The library patron asks him to try it anyway, and the librarian scans the slice of cheese to find that the computer accepted the transaction.
The Columbus Library likely jumped on the Mouse Pay meme because its creator appears to be based in Ohio. In a video posted on May 13, he complains about stores in the state failing to accept the payment method, forcing him to drive to Wisconsin for food.
@awesome_cheese_mouse How are there still almost no stores accepting mouse pay in Ohio?? #awesomecheesemouse #mousepay #furious ♬ original sound - awesome_cheese_mouse
In early June, a rivalry emerged between Mouse Pay and "Freak Pay," which references the Freakbob meme from earlier in 2024. On June 25, TikTok user @domthetroll posted a video showing him asking a shop worker if they accept Freak Pay, presenting a printout of the Freakbob meme image.
@domthetroll FREAKBOB PAYMENT WORKS EVERY TIME ???????????????????? #foryou #troll #trolling #pizzaria #funny #public #ihavenothing #freakbob ♬ original sound - DomTheTroll????
From there, videos emerged in which TikTokers asked cashiers to pick between Mouse Pay and Freak Pay. Before long, people were asking to use other fake payment methods like "Pudgy Pay" using different animals, animated characters, and celebrities.
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