Tag: Monetary Authority of Singapore

Singapore – Major mobile network operators (MNOs) in Singapore has assured the public of their compliance to Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA)’s Shared Responsibility Framework (SRF) for phishing scams. 

MAS and IMDA recently announced the implementation of the SRF, which assigns duties to financial institutions and telecommunication companies to address phishing scams. In a joint response, MNOs M1, Singtel, StarHub and SIMBA emphasises their collective adherence to protect its customers.

“The MNOs have already implemented the telco duties set out in the Shared Responsibility Framework (SRF). On top of these duties, the MNOs have also complied with other scam prevention measures such as stringent SIM card registration requirements and offering the option for subscribers to block international calls and SMS,” the statement read. 

The SRF holds network banks and telco liable for customers suffering from scams, requiring them to perform real-time fraud surveillance. If a customer is scammed, telcos may be expected to bear the losses if the guidelines are not followed.

The MNOs said they will collaborate with authorities to enforce measures and avoid scams. 

“In line with the SRF, the respective MNOs will review the eligibility of claims made, with consideration of fair recourse,” the joint statement read.

Earlier this year, the major MNOs have strengthened their anti-scam efforts by partnering with IMDA to allow their customers to block international mobile numbers.

MAS and IMDA is set to implement the SRF starting Dec. 16, 2024. The SRF was first published on Oct. 25, 2023 for a consultation, gathering responses from the public and business representatives.

Singapore – The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has directed e-commerce platform Qoo10 to suspend all payment services regulated under the ‘Payment Services Act 2019’ in Singapore, following numerous customer complaints regarding significant delays in processing payments.

Effective immediately, the suspension order does not prevent Qoo10 from operating its e-commerce platform; however, the company may need to enlist a third-party payment service provider to facilitate transactions on the platform.

Between April and August 2024, MAS and other government agencies received several customer complaints against Qoo10 for delays in processing payments to these customers, who are merchants on Qoo10’s e-commerce platform. Qoo10 was asked to address these complaints, and while some were resolved, others remained outstanding. 

In early September 2024, Qoo10 notified MAS that a substantial number of merchants would experience payment delays. In response, MAS engaged with Qoo10’s management to address these issues and conveyed serious concerns regarding the situation.

On September 14, The Straits Times (ST) reported that the Singapore Police Force has started investigating complaints filed against Qoo10 and its logistics partner, Qxpress. According to vendors who spoke to ST, Qoo10, which operates in Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, and Hong Kong, has allegedly failed to make timely payments. 

ST also reportedly reviewed documents indicating that vendors using Qxpress for shipping goods to and from Singapore have been facing delays since July. 

In an official statement, MAS said, “MAS provided opportunities to Qoo10 to remedy these concerns and required the company to take steps to satisfy MAS that it would be able to meet its obligations to merchants on an ongoing basis, including engaging a third-party payment service provider to offer the covered services.”

However, to date, Qoo10 has failed to provide adequate assurance of its resources and systems to meet its payment obligations to merchants in a timely manner, prompting the financial regulatory authority to issue the suspension order.

“MAS has had to carefully consider the potential disruption the suspension could cause to Qoo10’s e-commerce platform or other services that are integrated with the covered payment services,” MAS explained. 

“However, permitting Qoo10 to continue providing covered payments services would expose more merchants using Qoo10’s covered payment services to risks of larger outstanding obligations and potential losses. Qoo10 will be permitted to make payments to satisfy outstanding claims by such merchants but may not take on new payment obligations,” MAS added. 

According to MAS, the suspension will only be reconsidered when Qoo10 demonstrates its ability to effectively resolve the payment delays and ensure the ongoing protection of its customers’ interests in Singapore.

It is important to note that when the PS Act was introduced on 28 January 2020, existing payment service providers were granted exemptions to continue their services while their license applications were under review by MAS, ensuring that these services remained uninterrupted. While Qoo10 is not licensed by MAS, it was allowed to continue offering payment services during the review process of its application.

MAS advises merchants facing payment delays to raise their concerns with Qoo10. If these issues remain unresolved, merchants are encouraged to use established commercial dispute resolution processes, including filing a civil claim. Additionally, those experiencing cash flow difficulties due to these delays should reach out to participating financial institutions listed on Enterprise Singapore’s website to apply for the Enterprise Financing Scheme (working capital loan).

According to ST, reports of Qoo10’s issues first surfaced in July, revealing that TMON and WeMakePrice—two South Korean e-commerce platforms owned by Qoo10—had failed to pay their vendors, leading to an investigation by South Korean authorities. 

In addition, reports in August indicated that Qoo10 had reduced its workforce in Singapore by approximately 80%. The Ministry of Manpower announced that the Taskforce for Responsible Retrenchment and Employment Facilitation is monitoring the company’s retrenchment efforts.

Singapore – The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has released a statement on the Allianz-Income Insurance deal following a recent parliamentary query on whether the organisation will be working alongside the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) regarding the acquisition deal. It is worth noting that this follows a slew of public outcry regarding the acquisition, stating how it will ‘commercialise’ a brand that Singaporeans trust in the insurance space.

The response, made by Chee Hong Tat, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance, and Board Member of MAS, noted that MAS’ primary role as regulator is to promote a sound and progressive financial sector. For the insurance sector, they want insurers to manage their risks well so that policyholders are assured that their long-term policies are safe and will be adequately protected.

Moreover, Tat noted that when MAS assesses the application for a change in substantial shareholder in an insurer, they will consider a range of criteria, in particular, the applicant’s track record, financial soundness, reputation, as well as fitness and propriety.

“MAS had reviewed and was satisfied with the relevant processes Income’s Board had put in place to address conflicts of interest with respect to the appointment of its financial advisor on this proposed deal, and the decision to enter into the deal with Allianz. In the appointment of the financial advisor for the deal, the Chairman of Income’s Board had recused himself. The decision to enter into the deal was made by the Board, comprising a majority of independent directors,” he stated.

Moreover, Tat also highlighted that fostering a competitive insurance market with financially strong insurers is a key part of MAS’ approach to ensuring that insurers operate sustainably and serve the public well. They believe that a competitive market is the most effective way to meet the insurance needs of Singaporeans, and facilitate access to affordable insurance options and good service over the longer term.

“The insurance market in Singapore is highly competitive. There are currently more than 50 direct insurers in Singapore offering a wide range of insurance products to meet the insurance needs of individuals and businesses. In both life and general insurance, Income has market shares of less than 10% based on written premium. For many insurance products, Income does not always offer the lowest prices compared to other insurers,” he remarked.

Lastly, he stated that he understands the public concerns and even those in the government, assuring them that MAS has regulatory requirements and guidance in place for insurers to maintain sufficient capital reserves, put in place robust governance and risk management frameworks, and also to treat their customers fairly.

“Should the proposed deal be approved, there will be no change to the terms and conditions of existing insurance contracts. MAS expects Income to fulfil its obligations to all policyholders under the terms of its existing insurance contracts. I note that Allianz has also publicly stated its intent for Income to continue to honour the terms of the existing policies underwritten by Income and ensure a seamless transition with no impact to existing policyholders. MAS will hold Income and Allianz to account to these commitments”, he stated.

Malaysia – The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) have announced the joint launch of the real-time payment system linkage between Malaysia’s DuitNow and Singapore’s PayNow.

The DuitNow-PayNow linkage enables instant, secure, and cost-effective person-to-person (P2P) fund transfers and remittances between the two countries. It will also be the first to include the participation of non-bank financial institutions from both countries, providing access to a broader group of users.

For users in Malaysia, the service will first be available for all Maybank, CIMB, and TNG Digital’s users. Meanwhile, the same service will be available in Singapore for customers of Liquid Group, Maybank Singapore, OCBC, and UOB under a phased approach.

Other financial institutions will be gradually onboarded, and the number of eligible users will gradually increase until the end of January 2024. This is to provide support for the customer’s familiarity with the new service.

With this new cross-border P2P payment system, eligible consumers of participating financial institutions will be able to send and receive funds of up to RM3,000 or S$1,000 daily by using the recipient’s mobile phone number or VPA.

The DuitNow-PayNow linkage is an outcome of extensive collaboration among the central banks, payment system operators, scheme owners, and participating financial institutions of both countries.

This milestone is expected to improve the cost, speed, access, and transparency of cross-border payments, with users from both countries fully benefiting from the linkage’s cost-effectiveness, inclusivity, and accessibility.

This initiative follows the QR payment linkage announced on March 31, 2023, which enabled cross-border QR payments to merchants.

Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour, governor at BNM, said, “Cross-border payments that are fast, secure, and cost-efficient can provide immense benefits, especially for individuals and small businesses in countries with very close economic ties such as Malaysia and Singapore. The DuitNow-PayNow linkage enables us to reap these benefits towards our shared growth and prosperity while laying the foundations for scalable cross-border payment networks across and beyond ASEAN.”

Ravi Menon, managing director at MAS, said, “The PayNow-DuitNow linkage is the culmination of a shared aspiration by Singapore and Malaysia to facilitate cross-border payments between our two countries. This linkage represents another step towards ASEAN’s vision for regional payment interconnectivity.”

Singapore – The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has imposed a six-month pause of DBS Banks’ non-essential services in order to allow the bank to focus more on the essential service of restoring its system resilience, following a slew of prolonged outages and disruptions in the bank’s systems.

Suspended non-essential services include acquiring new business ventures during this period or reducing the size of its branch and ATM networks in Singapore.

The imposed pause was the result of when MAS directed DBS to conduct a third-party independent review of the bank’s systems back in April this year. Through the review, they identified several shortcomings on the bank’s systems which included system resilience, incident management, change management, and technology risk governance and oversight.

Following the independent review, DBS Bank has set out a technology resiliency roadmap to address the shortcomings, improve system resilience, and better position the bank to meet future digital banking needs. The roadmap is being implemented in phases, with the changes affecting its system architecture design taking more time to complete.

Moreover, MAS will review the progress made by DBS Bank on its remediation efforts at the end of six months. MAS may extend the duration of the measures, vary the additional capital requirement currently imposed, or take further actions at that point.

Ho Hern Shin, deputy managing director for financial supervision at MAS, said, “DBS must put in place immediate measures to ensure service reliability while it continues to invest in the longer-term efforts to bolster its operational resilience. We have imposed this six-month pause on the bank to give it the space to take the actions needed to maintain customer trust.”

Following the said statement, DBS has issued an official apology related to its series of digital disruptions, while promising that a roadmap that includes measures to strengthen technology governance, people/leadership, systems and processes is now rolling.

DBS Chairman Peter Seah said, “The Board apologises for the digital banking disruptions. When customers bank with us, they expect to be able to access our banking services conveniently, and at any time of the day. With the incidents of the past year, we have failed to live up to these expectations, and have also fallen short of our own standards. As an acknowledgement that the bank could have done better, senior management will be held accountable, and this will be reflected in their compensation.”

He added, “Over the past few months, the bank has been making every effort possible to strengthen our resiliency and business continuity, and to be able to recover more quickly when incidents happen. This is a work in progress, and we seek customers’ patience as we work through our remedial actions.”

Singapore – The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced that it is committing S$150m to drive technological innovation in the financial sector. The financial commitment was made under the renewed Financial Sector Technology and Innovation Scheme (FSTI 3.0).

FSTI 3.0 seeks to accelerate and strengthen innovation by supporting projects that involve the use of cutting-edge technologies or with a regional nexus, while doubling down on MAS’ commitment to promote a vibrant technology ecosystem for the financial sector.

Moreover, FSTI 3.0 will continue to support advanced capability development and adoption in key areas such as artificial intelligence and data analytics (AIDA), and Regulation Technology (RegTech). 

Specifically, MAS will focus on promoting AIDA adoption in smaller financial firms and supporting the needs of less digitally mature firms looking to acquire regtech solutions. Across tracks, applicants will also be required to devote resources to talent development, in order to strengthen the Singaporean fintech talent pool.

FSTI 3.0 will comprise several tracks which include enhanced centre of excellence; innovation acceleration; and environmental, social and governance (ESG) fintech.

The scope of grant funding will be expanded to include corporate venture capital (CVC) entities, at funding support of up to 50% of qualifying expenses, capped at S$2 million per project. Moreover, the funding will enable CVCs to offer strong mentorship and support to help start-ups scale and develop resilient and viable business models.

Moreover, MAS recognises the importance of partnering with the industry to support innovative fintech solutions arising from emerging technologies such as Web 3.0. MAS will conduct open calls for the use of innovative technologies in industry use cases. Grant funding will be provided to support actual trial and commercialisation.

Lastly, MAS also aims to support the development and deployment of projects that address ESG data, reporting, and analytics needs of the financial sector, at funding support of up to 50% of qualifying expenses, capped at S$500,000 per project.

Ravi Menon, managing director at MAS, said, “Since 2015, the Financial Sector Development Fund (FSDF) has awarded $340 million as part of the FSTI programme to drive the adoption of technology and innovation in the financial sector. Transformative technology projects that MAS has piloted with the industry include SGFinDex, Project Orchid’s Purpose Bound Money, Project Veritas’ Responsible AI, green and sustainable finance through Project Greenprint, as well as large payment initiatives such as the cross-border payment linkage with Thailand.”

He added, “Notably, FSTI 1.0 and 2.0 helped strengthen the digital capabilities of financial institutions which served them and their customers through the COVID pandemic. With FSTI 3.0, we look forward to continued collaboration with the industry to advance purposeful financial innovation.”

Singapore – The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Bank Indonesia (BI) have announced plans to commence work on cross-border QR payment linkage between Indonesia and Singapore as part of the ASEAN-wide payments connectivity effort. The linkage is targeted to be launched in the second half of 2023.

The linkage allows users to make instant, secure, and efficient retail payments by scanning the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) or NETS QR codes displayed by merchants.

In addition, the payment connectivity between Indonesia and Singapore will empower individuals and businesses, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), to conduct their cross-border trade, e-commerce, and financial activities efficiently.

BI and MAS also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) today to promote the use of local currencies in bilateral transactions such as trade and direct investments. This is in line with ASEAN financial integration efforts to facilitate the wider use of local currencies in intra-ASEAN trade and investment settlement. This can help businesses reduce their exposure to exchange rate risks and costs of conducting bilateral transactions.

Ravi Menon, managing director of MAS, said, “The QRIS-NETS QR code payments connectivity is a milestone in ASEAN’s goal to establish regional payments integration by 2025 and support the vibrant cross-border trade corridors within the region. This linkage also aligns with the G20’s efforts to address existing frictions in global cross-border payments and support post-pandemic economic recovery and growth.” 

He added, “The MOU to promote the use of local currencies for bilateral transactions complements the QRIS-NETS QR code payments connectivity as it will further facilitate the settlement of bilateral transactions between Singapore and Indonesia in their respective local currencies.”

Meanwhile, Perry Warjiyo, governor of BI, said on this occasion, “During Indonesia’s G20 Presidency in 2022 and ASEAN Central Bank Governors’ Meeting in April 2022, payment digitalisation and cross-border payments have become a priority agenda. This initiative links cross-border payments through the interconnection of national QR codes of payment between two countries, represents another milestone of the Indonesian Payment System Blueprint 2025, and also integrates with the framework to promote the use of local currencies.” 

He added, “It provides more options for users in cross-border payment transactions and serves as a key to improving transaction efficiency, promoting digital economic and financial inclusion, and strengthening macroeconomic stability by promoting more extensive use of local currencies for bilateral transactions. Bank Indonesia believes that the initiatives mark a key milestone in strengthening bilateral financial cooperation between Singapore and Indonesia.” 

Singapore – The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) have announced new measures to encourage financial institutions in Singapore to enhance their own security across their digital banking systems.

A main takeaway from this announcement is that MAS and ABS has ordered banks to remove any clickable links in emails or SMSes sent to their retail customers. Other measures being announced include delay of at least 12 hours before activation of a new soft token on a mobile device and sending out a notification to existing mobile number or email registered with the bank whenever there is a request to change a customer’s mobile number or email address.

The announcement also included reminders for putting up a threshold for funds transfer transaction notifications to customers to be set by default at SG$100 or lower, as well as cooling-off period before implementation of requests for key account changes such as in a customer’s key contact details.

MAS and ABS continue to warn the general public to never click on links provided in SMSes or emails or never divulge internet banking credentials or passwords to anyone, as well as verifying SMSes or emails received by calling the bank directly and verify that one is at the bank’s official website before making any transactions.

Wee Ee Cheong, Chairman of The Association of Banks in Singapore said, “As an industry, we have always focused on the need to ensure robust security measures while meeting customers’ expectations for convenient and swift services. Together with the MAS and ecosystem players, the banking industry will continue to strengthen consumer protection measures. We also ask that the public stay vigilant given that scams continue to evolve and are executed quickly. We remain committed to upholding the confidence with which customers can transact online safely, while still maintaining a high level of service.”

Meanwhile, Ravi Menon, managing director at MAS, commented, “MAS is deeply concerned about the recent spate of scams and the financial losses suffered by victims. The threat of scams will not go away, but we can reduce our vulnerabilities. This requires a multi-pronged response across the ecosystem. MAS, together with the police, IMDA and other relevant government agencies, is working closely with the financial industry, the telco industry, consumer groups, and other stakeholders to strengthen our collective resilience against scam attacks. We will ensure that digital banking remains secure, efficient, and trusted.”