TNG eWallet Set To Also Adopt BNM’s Additional Safeguards Against Financial Scams

Alex Cheong Pui Yin

15th November 2022 - 2 min read

Touch ‘n Go (TNG) eWallet has announced today that it, too, will implement the five additional safeguards that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) had specifically laid out for the local banking industry in its fight against financial scams. This is despite the fact that TNG eWallet itself is a non-bank financial service provider, making it the first e-wallet in Malaysia to incorporate the measures.

Like all major banks in Malaysia, TNG eWallet said that it will implement the following security measures for its users:

Migrate from using SMS one-time passwords (OTPs) to verify transactions and payment activities, relying instead on a more secure authentication method, such as facial authentication
Tighten fraud rules to block suspicious transactions more effectively
Implement verification and cooling-off periods for first-time enrolment of services, secure devices, or profile documents
Restrict the authentication of online payments to only one secure device per account holder
Set up a dedicated customer service hotline catering specifically to reports of scams and fraud

To note, these five measures were previously announced by BNM for the banking industry in September 2022, following a worrying increase in the number of financial scams being reported. The central bank had stressed then that banks in Malaysia are required to adopt high standards of security, but did not extend the standards to non-bank financial service providers.

TNG eWallet aims to implement these measures by the first quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, most banks – such as Maybank, CIMB, and UOB – are set to put the safeguards into place by June 2023.

In addition to adopting the additional safeguards, TNG eWallet also stated that it will become the first e-wallet to join the government’s National Scam Response Centre (NSRC). Briefly, the NSRC is a joint effort between numerous parties to combat cyber fraud cases, including the anti-financial crime centre (NFCC), Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), BNM, police force, financial institutions, and telecommunications companies.

Finally, on top of these security updates, TNG eWallet also shared that its long-awaited TNG eWallet Visa card is set to finally be launched in December 2022 – just next month. This card was first announced back in 2021, and can be linked directly to your TNG eWallet. It will also allow you to transact at more than 70 million merchants worldwide that accept Visa as a payment method, as well as make withdrawals at Visa-enabled ATMs.

(Sources: Lowyat.NET, Zing Gadget)

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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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