SINGAPORE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Adrian Ang, Alexander Fong and Benjamin Samynathan, Allen & Gledhill LLP
Regulatory Safeguards for Scams and the Shared Responsibility Framework Finally, there has also been a proliferation of scams and other confidence tricks, capitalising on opportunities to prey on the vulnerabilities of consumers. In fact, from January to June 2024, the number of scam and cybercrime cases increased by 19% to 28,751 cases, compared to 24,367 cases in the same period in 2023, with scams accounting for 92.5% of these 28,751 cases. The total amount lost increased by 24.6% to at least SGD385.6 million in the first half of 2024, from at least SGD309.4 million in the same period in 2023. Accordingly, MAS has taken various measures to ensure that a robust framework exists to protect consumers as far as possible. This includes the 2024 revision to the E-Payment User Protection Guidelines to promote the safety and security of e-payments, the publication of the Circular on Anti-Scam Measures on 25 October 2024 (the “Anti-Scams Circular” ), and the joint pub - lication of the Guidelines on Shared Respon - sibility Framework (the “SRF Guidelines” ) on 24 October 2024 together with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). These three instruments involve different entities and contain some overlapping duties, but have the common purpose of protecting retail individuals. The Anti-Scams Circular addresses Major Pay - ment Institutions (MPIs) providing personal payment accounts that contain e-money. For example, it requires MPIs to implement certain measures, such as a 12-hour cooling off period upon a login to an e-wallet on a new device, a default transaction limit of SGD1,000, restric - tions on sending clickable links/QR codes via e-mail or SMS, the provision of a 24/7 report - ing channel and kill switch, and capabilities for real-time detection and blocking of suspicious
transactions. MPIs intending to implement higher stock and flow caps (of SGD30,000 and SGD100,000 respectively) are required to imple - ment the measures within the Anti-Scams Circu - lar, and submit an attestation, before doing so. The SRF Guidelines, which took effect on 16 December 2024, set out relevant duties to miti - gate phishing scams, and set expectations of payouts to affected scam victims where these duties are breached. It also sets out a framework of responsibility for losses arising from seem - ingly authorised transactions, and an operational workflow for processing claims in respect of any seemingly authorised transaction. In brief, if the relevant financial institution and the telecom - munications provider have both fulfilled all their duties under the SRF Guidelines, consumers will bear the losses from scams. These measures are designed to preserve confidence in digital payments and digital banking in Singapore, and to strengthen direct accountability of relevant regulated financial institutions and mobile net - work operators. Conclusion As the overview to this Fintech 2025 Guide notes, since 2023, the growth of AI has been exponen - tial, and this is expected to continue well into the future. Further, growth in the use-cases of stablecoins and mainstream adoption of cryp - tocurrencies have amplified the need for robust consumer protections. In particular, bad actors seeking to take advantage of our vulnerabilities have also required us to focus on implementing frameworks to ensure that victims of scams and other confidence tricks are protected. In any regulatory framework, a balance must always be struck between innovation and con - sumer protection. The trends that we expect to unfold in 2025 will present new opportunities and
779 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook