Forum: Stronger safeguards needed for inter-bank transfers

The recent case of a car salesman cheating buyers highlights a troubling gap in the security of inter-bank transfers (

Former car salesman jailed for cheating 2 customers of over $341k in total

, Jun 17).

Unlike cheques – where banks verify that the payee’s name matches the account number – bank transfers rely on a series of digits. There is no built-in check to ensure that the name of the recipient matches the account the funds are being sent to. The burden is on the sender to get it right.

This lack of verification can be an opportunity for fraudsters to exploit. The Monetary Authority of Singapore should require banks to implement additional safeguards such as mandatory name verification for large transfers.

Chan Cheng Lock