Easement of Anti-Scam Measures by Banks in "Whitelist" and/or Considerable Safe Situations
Ministry of FinanceSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Ms Sylvia Lim’s inquiry into reducing transaction friction for whitelisted scenarios, such as transfers to oneself or government agencies. Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong replied that safeguards like delayed processing for large outflows already exempt recurring instructions, GIRO payments, and bill payments to government-linked billing organizations. He noted that banks currently cannot verify if external accounts are self-owned and highlighted measures like MoneyLock and the phasing out of SMS One Time Passwords. Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong emphasized that some inconvenience is necessary for scam prevention and advised consumers to plan ahead for large transfers. The Monetary Authority of Singapore will continue monitoring these measures to balance security with legitimate transaction needs.
Transcript
4 Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether the Monetary Authority of Singapore will work with banks to recalibrate anti-scam measures so that friction in transactions is reduced in prescribed "whitelist" situations, for example, when account holders are making transfers to themselves or to Government agencies.
Mr Gan Kim Yong (for the Prime Minister): The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has worked with banks on additional safeguards to protect account holders against scams that result in large sums being lost from their bank accounts. A recent measure applies to bank accounts1 with at least $50,000 balance that are being rapidly drained of funds. Banks will delay the processing of further transfers to allow consumers time to re-consider if the transaction is indeed legitimate.
We are mindful not to unduly impede legitimate transactions, and there are whitelisted transactions that are not subject to this measure. Examples include: (i) Recurring standing instructions; (ii) Recurring GIRO/eGIRO payments; and (iii) Bill payments to organisations, including Government agencies, that are classified as billing organisations by the bank. Currently, a bank does not have information to determine whether the recipient’s bank account held with another bank is owned by the same customer.
MAS and banks are closely monitoring the implementation of the new measure, and will consider other adjustments as necessary to minimise disruptions to legitimate transactions while offering protection against scams. MAS and the banking industry have introduced various measures, including MoneyLock, and the phasing out of SMS One Time Passwords.
To protect consumers against scams, we need to accept some inconvenience in payments transactions. We also encourage consumers to plan ahead if they need to make large value bank transfers.