Statistics on Take-up Rate of "Money Lock" Feature in Local Banks and Protective Measures Against Digital Banking Scams
Prime Minister's OfficeSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Mr Saktiandi Supaat’s inquiry regarding the adoption of the "Money Lock" feature and measures by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to protect consumers from digital scams. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong reported that 38,000 accounts have secured $3.2 billion through Money Lock, with MAS currently working to expand the feature to more banks. He highlighted that banking app enhancements targeting side-loaded apps have significantly reduced malware scams, reflecting ongoing industry-wide efforts to implement technological solutions against evolving threats. Additionally, MAS is evaluating further safeguards for high-risk activities, particularly transactions involving overseas payees and remote bank account access. These measures will be implemented if assessed to be effective in strengthening the security of local banking consumers against increasingly sophisticated scam tactics.
Transcript
1 Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Prime Minister (a) whether the Government has data on the take-up rate of the “money lock” feature at the local banks; and (b) whether MAS is working with financial institutions to explore new technologies and measures to better protect local banking consumers from digital banking scams, especially for transactions involving foreign bank accounts and against scammers accessing local bank accounts from abroad.
Mr Lawrence Wong (for the Prime Minister): Money Lock is a feature that allows customers to set aside a portion of funds in their bank accounts that cannot be transferred digitally. This adds a layer of protection for customers to mitigate their losses should their digital access to bank accounts be compromised.
Since its launch by the local banks in November, Money Lock has been activated on about 38,000 accounts, with over $3.2 billion of savings set aside. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is working with other major retail banks to introduce the Money Lock feature as well, even as the local banks continue to raise awareness of this feature among their customers.
MAS works closely with financial institutions, industry players and other Government agencies to implement technologies and solutions to counter increasingly sophisticated scam tactics employed by scammers. A recent example is the enhancement of banks’ banking apps which block access to the app when there is a side-loaded app with access permissions turned on in the customer’s mobile phone. This enhancement has led to a significant reduction in the number of malware-enabled scams in recent months. MAS will continue to work with financial institutions to assess additional measures for higher risk transactions, including those relating to transfers to overseas payees and access of bank accounts from overseas locations. These and other measures will be rolled out if assessed to be effective.