Date: For Parliament Sitting on 29 February 2024

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC

Question:

To ask the Prime Minister (a) what is MAS’ assessment of the effectiveness of the rollout of the Money Lock feature across local banks in protecting consumers from scams and unauthorised transactions; (b) how pervasive and consistent has the adoption of the Money Lock feature been among bank customers since its introduction; and (c) what is the total value of savings currently safeguarded under the Money Lock feature.

Answer by Mr Alvin Tan, Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Board member of MAS, on behalf of Mr Lawrence Wong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, and Chairman of MAS:

1. Singapore’s three local banks have introduced a Money Lock feature for customers to set aside a portion of funds in their bank accounts that cannot be transferred digitally. This limits the amount a customer may lose should their digital banking access be compromised.

2. Since its launch by local banks in November last year, more than 61,000 Money Lock accounts have been set up, with over $5.4 billion of savings set aside in February 2024. Other major retail banks will introduce the Money Lock feature by mid-2024.

3. Banks will continue to make it easier for customers to use Money Lock, taking into consideration customer feedback and the collective implementation experience across the industry. For instance, instead of requiring customers to set up a new bank account to use Money Lock, DBS now allows customers to lock up funds within the same bank account. Locked funds will continue to earn the prevailing interest rate in that account.

4. To date, there have been no reports of phishing or malware scams involving funds under Money Lock. MAS will work with the banks to continue to encourage customers to adopt Money Lock and monitor its effectiveness. The majority of scams involve individuals transferring their money willingly due to social engineering or deception. There are even cases where individuals insist on transferring their money in spite of intervention by bank staff. These are authorised transactions. The defence against such scams is for everyone to be vigilant and sceptical of anyone asking for money to be transferred to them, whether for a relationship, a job or an investment.

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