PayNow to end nickname feature for users from June 6 to curb scams

PayNow users will no longer be able to use nicknames in lieu of their actual names from June 6, as part of efforts to strengthen protection against impersonation scams, the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) announced on Wednesday (April 29).

Following the change on June 6, the name of the retail payee displayed before a payment is made will no longer be a nickname chosen by the payee. 

Instead, only the name of the payee linked to the registered account will be displayed to the payer, but with selected letters shown to safeguard customer privacy. 

The association said in a media release that this approach balances between the use of real names as a safeguard against account impersonation, while being mindful of privacy considerations.

"Previously, scammers could exploit the PayNow nickname feature by using the names of established entities or trusted individuals as their PayNow nicknames, enabling them to deceive victims into transferring money to fraudulent accounts," ABS said.

Scammers can no longer pose as such entities or individuals

It added that the introduction of the enhanced security measure means that scammers can no longer be able to masquerade as such entities or persons, thereby reducing their ability to deceive unsuspecting users through PayNow.

PayNow users are not required to carry out any action on their end as all display names will be automatically updated to reflect selected letters of their registered account names with their respective financial institution.

The enhanced measure does not affect businesses using PayNow to receive payments via their businesses' unique entity number (UEN) as they are already unable to modify their registered account names.

Ong-Ang Ai Boon, director of ABS said that the industry's top priority is to safeguard consumers against scams. 

"While PayNow has made everyday payments more convenient, it is equally important that users can transact with confidence. 

"Discontinuing the nickname feature removes an avenue that scammers can exploit while safeguarding customer privacy," she added.

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editor@asiaone.com