ABM: Banks To Implement BNM’s Five Measures On Financial Scams By June 2023

Alex Cheong Pui Yin

14th December 2022 - 3 min read

The banking industry in Malaysia is expected to put into place all five additional safeguards that were listed by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to combat online scams by June 2023, said the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM).

For context, BNM had previously directed all banks in Malaysia to boost its online banking security system by implementing five additional key measures, namely:

Migrating from SMS one-time passwords (OTPs) to a more secure authentication method
Tightening of banks’ fraud detection rules
Verification and cooling-off period for first-time enrolment of e-banking services
Allowing only one mobile or secure device to be registered for transaction verification purposes
24/7 dedicated complaint channel for customers affected by scams

While BNM did not fix a hard deadline for the full implementation of these measures during its announcement, several banks subsequently came forward to say that they aim to put the safeguards into effect by the first half of 2023. Some of these banks include Maybank, CIMB, and Public Bank.

Chairman of the Industry Task force on Measures to Combat Financial Scams, Datuk John Chong also said that more than 80% of banks have already established a dedicated 24/7 hotline for scam complaints. “Also, more than 80% have the one mobile device service,” he further stated during a media roundtable session, citing a survey by the task force on 31 banks.

Datuk John – who is also the group chief executive officer of community financial services at Maybank – further said that the other measures are progressing well, with most banks aiming to complete them by next year. His comments are verified by other banking industry representatives as well, including the CEO of CIMB Group Holdings, Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad, as well as the CEO of HSBC Bank Malaysia, Datuk Omar Siddiq.

In a separate statement, ABM also stressed the necessity for the banking industry to take “a holistic approach” in tackling financial scams. This includes educating and increasing awareness among the public via the National Scam Awareness campaign, which was launched back in October 2022 with the tagline “Awas, Fikir, Blok. Ingat 3 Saat OK.”

Furthermore, ABM emphasised that “security is a collective responsibility that requires a one nation approach.” It said that as the banking industry continues to play its part in tackling financial scams, the public is also urged to adopt good online banking practices, including not sharing their banking credentials with other parties and never using unsecured public WiFi connection to perform online banking transactions.

(Sources: ABM, The Edge Markets)

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Alex Cheong Pui Yin

Previously covered recruitment-related stories and had a short stint as a copywriter for the property industry. She subsequently developed an interest in investment and robo-advisors.

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