Concerns over Giro payment scheme

I have some concerns over the Giro payment scheme.

Recently, I realised that a billing organisation brought forward its deduction schedule such that deductions were made from my account through Giro twice a month, instead of the usual once a month.

I was not given any notification of this.

According to my bank, the billing organisation is allowed to make unlimited deductions within a month as authorisation has been given by the customer.

The only safeguard is for the customer to set a payment limit per transaction and a daily limit per deduction.

The Giro scheme is a convenient mode of payment and I believe that, aside from the statutory bodies, many private organisations, both big and small, make use of it.

Without any limits on the number of deductions billing organisations can make a month, customers are subject to unnecessary risks.

The necessary controls should be put in place by the relevant authorities.

Otherwise, customers could find their bank accounts emptied due to fraudulent transactions.

Jane Soh (Ms)


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