OCBC rolls out in-app calls for retail banking customers amid anti-fraud push
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In-app calls are significantly harder for scammers to replicate and will help customers distinguish genuine calls from the bank from fraudulent ones.
PHOTO: OCBC
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SINGAPORE – OCBC’s retail banking customers will be able to make in-app calls to the bank’s contact centre, with the feature being progressively rolled out following a successful launch for corporate customers in June.
It is part of the bank’s efforts to step up protection against fraudsters and improve convenience for customers, especially those who need urgent assistance while abroad, such as in cases of suspected credit fraud or security concerns, OCBC said on Nov 24.
Such in-app calls will not incur International Direct Dialling charges.
OCBC’s data shows that business and retail banking customers make a total of over 8,000 calls to the bank each month while they are overseas.
The latest move will also help reduce heavy reliance on security questions and SMS one-time passwords (OTPs), as such methods to verify customers who call banks’ hotlines may be increasingly susceptible to fraud, said OCBC.
Fraudsters can easily phish SMS OTPs due to technological developments and sophisticated social engineering tactics, it added.
OCBC said that in-app calls are significantly harder for scammers to replicate and will help customers distinguish genuine calls from the bank from fraudulent ones.
To make a call using the OCBC and OCBC Business apps, customers must first log in using biometrics or access credentials, along with a digital or physical token.
The two-factor authentication approach ensures that the calls remain protected within the apps’ ecosystem. Security questions will be asked as an additional safeguard only if the customer requests to do a high-risk transaction on the in-app call.
Besides receiving calls, OCBC also targets to start calling business banking customers using the in-app feature from the first half of 2026.
It aims to reduce the risk of impersonation scams, where scammers pose as bank staff or government officials.
In the first half of 2025, such cases in Singapore surged to 1,762, almost tripling from a year ago.
Mr Sunny Quek, head of global consumer financial services at OCBC, said that trust in phone calls has eroded.
“This is perfectly understandable as scam calls have become common, and their tactics have become more sophisticated. In-app calling capabilities are therefore powerful as they help restore confidence by ensuring that calls happen in a secure, authenticated space,” he said.
