Unauthorised transaction: Bank replies

SINGAPORE- We refer to Mrs Divya Bhatt’s letter (“No password, yet online transaction went through”; last Thursday).

We have clarified the matter with her husband.

We completed our investigation on Nov 20 and found that the transaction was unauthorised. Thus, the customer will not be liable for it.

Unlike for local e-commerce websites, it is not mandatory for overseas ones to support “3D-Secure” authentication protocols such as “Verified by Visa” and “SecureCode” (MasterCard).

Hence, cardholders, regardless of the issuing bank, will not receive a one-time password to complete their transactions.

To mitigate the potential risks arising from transacting on these websites, SMS alerts will be sent to our customers whenever their transactions exceed $1,000 or the amount that they have set. They should inform the bank as soon as possible to have their cards blocked if the transaction was unauthorised.

A dispute declaration form will then have to be submitted to the bank. The disputed amount will be refunded to the customer if our investigations show that the transaction was fraudulent.

Desmond Tan

Head of Group Lifestyle Financing

OCBC Bank

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