The Australian Banking Association (ABA) and Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) declared the sector was unveiling a “new offensive in the war on scams”,which the ACCCrevealed cost Australians $3.1 billion a year – and rising.
“[The initiative] reflects the banking sector’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding every Australian,” association chief executive Anna Bligh said. “It outlines the actions every bank will take to protect Australian consumers and small businesses and to harden the system against scams.”
Banks had initially resisted calls to follow in the steps of the United Kingdom,which introduced new rules in 2020 to force banks to name-check transactions and issue notifications if there is a mismatch.
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But the sector has caved to growing pressure,and on Friday announced it would roll out Scam-Safe Accord across all banks,as well as mutual banks,credit unions and building societies. At the heart of the accord is a $100 million investment in a new ‘confirmation of payee system’ to ensure senders can ascertain they are transferring money to the person they intend to.
Design of the new system will immediately begin,but it will be rolled out over the next year and in 2025.
“Preventing scammers from taking the hard-earned money of everyday Australians is a shared responsibility,” COBA chief executive Mike Lawrence said. “As scammers work hard to devise new ways to steal money,it’s critical that governments,industry and consumers remain vigilant to make Australia a hard target for scammers.”