Singapore will need to prioritise security over convenience in the ongoing fight against financial scams, according to MAS Managing Director Chia Der Jiun.
Speaking at the release of the central bank’s annual report, he noted that stronger safeguards may introduce some friction for users but are essential to protect the public from increasingly sophisticated scam tactics.
MAS is working with banks and payment service providers to strengthen anti-scam measures, as scams involving self-initiated transfers continue to make up the largest share of reported losses.
These include investment scams and impersonation scams where victims are misled into thinking they are dealing with legitimate officials or financial services.
Several changes have already been rolled out. Over the past year, banks have phased out SMS one-time passwords (OTPs) for digital logins and card transactions, reducing the risk of account takeovers.
Some major retail banks have also implemented pre-transaction warnings for large-value transfers, giving customers a chance to pause before proceeding.
MAS is working with the remaining banks to adopt similar measures.
Security features such as Money Lock are seeing wider adoption.
As of 31 May 2025, more than 350,000 customers had used the service to lock nearly S$28 billion in funds, more than triple the amount reported a year earlier.
The tool helps prevent unauthorised digital transfers even if a customer’s banking access is compromised.
To disrupt scam transactions in real time, banks implemented fraud surveillance on 16 June under the Shared Responsibility Framework.
This includes monitoring for rapid fund outflows that may indicate suspicious activity.
Banks will also begin introducing cooling-off periods for high-risk actions such as increasing transfer limits or changing contact details, giving customers time to reassess and potentially stop a scam in progress.
MAS is also working with banks to strengthen user authentication for higher-risk online transactions.
One measure under development is a FIDO-compliant hardware token (or FHT) that must be physically plugged into the customer’s device to approve payments, for higher risk internet banking payments and transfers.
MAS is engaging users to better understand adoption challenges before the tool is rolled out.
Chia said,
“To combat evolving scam typologies, we need to do better collectively as a society to combat all types of scams. Vigilance by each of us as consumers remains an important first line of defence.
We should be sceptical of requests to transfer money, take time to verify their legitimacy, and promptly report suspected scams to our banks and the authorities.”
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by ttonaorh via Freepik
