Currently, there are no standardised industry guidelines spelling out what consumers are liable for in the event e-payment transactions are wrongfully made.
According to the central banks proposed guidelines, if users are found to have taken full care to protect their accounts and still they experience unauthorised transactions, they are considered not liable for any loss and should be compensated in full.
Where users are found to be partially responsible for unauthorised transactions by being negligent but not reckless, they are liable for up to USD 75.19 of their losses and are expected to be compensated for remaining amounts above that.
However, where users are found to be the primary cause of their losses due to recklessness, they are expected to be fully liable for what they lose, with no compensation on the cards.
The guidelines spell out duties of users like the need for them to not voluntarily disclose access codes to third parties, to keep records in secure locations, and to use strong passwords for their accounts. Financial institutions will assess if users have been diligent, negligent or reckless in carrying out these duties when unauthorised transactions happen.
Accounts that can hold a balance of more than USD 380.95 and are operated by banks, credit card firms or finance companies are covered under the guidelines. These include bank accounts linked to e-payment platforms like PayNow, NETS, debit and credit cards.
If users accidentally send money to a wrong account, the guidelines say that financial institutions and fund recipients should take steps to return what was sent. Recipients will be informed that it is an offence to retain money that they are not entitled to.
A public consultation ending on 16 March 2018 has also been launched to gather feedback from consumers and industry players, with plans for the proposal to kick in within the H1 of 2018.
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now