Banks announce anti-scam pact including industry-wide software
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The news: Australian banks are developing industry-wide software to ensure customers can confirm they are transferring money to the party they intend.
The $100 million 'confirmation of payee' technology is one of the measures announced in the Scam-Safe Accord — a pact between banks, building societies, credit unions and community-owned banks.
The other measures include major banks using biometric checks for new accounts by the end of 2024, limited payments on high risk channels such as crypto platforms, greater intelligence sharing, and increased warnings, payment delays and security questions for transactions.
The numbers: Australians have lost almost $8 million to identity theft scams in 2023, according to the National Anti-Scam Centre. Much more has been lost to similar scam types that target bank customers, such as phishing and hacking.
The banks say they have returned more than $600 million in stolen funds to customers in the past year, and want to do more.
The context: Most of the measures are due to be implemented by the end of 2024. The 'confirmation of payee' technology, already used by some banks, will be rolled out during 2024 and 2025.
The Australian Banking Association and Customer Owned Banking Association are behind the efforts, which include sharing more information with the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange.
The source: Australian Banking Association
