Westpac
is
set
to
launch
new
payment
verification
measures
to
combat
scams
and
mistaken
payments,
the
second
of
Australia’s
‘big
four’
banks
to
act
in
the
space
of
a
month.
Westpac
Verify
is
designed
to
check
for
“mismatched”
account
name,
account
number
and
BSB
numbers
on
transactions
run
via
the
New
Payments
Platform
(NPP).
The
new
service
will
flag
payments
and
put
them
on
hold
pending
customer
review;
however,
payments
will
process
if
no
action
is
taken
after
four
hours.
The
Verify
feature
is
set
to
be
rolled
out
to
customers
next
month
once
the
current
testing
phase
is
complete.
Westpac’s
new
feature
follows
a
similar
launch
by
the
Commonwealth
Bank
last
month.
Westpac
chief
executive
of
consumer
and
business
banking
Chris
de
Bruin
said
the
bank’s
latest
customer
scam
data
revealed
“customer
losses
reached
a
new
record
high
in
December.”
“The
majority
of
scam-related
transactions
happen
when
a
customer
is
tricked
into
transferring
their
money
to
a
scammer
via
online
or
mobile
banking,”
de
Bruin
said.
“They
may
think
they’re
sending
money
to
a
legitimate
business,
individual,
or
bank
account
they’ve
been
told
has
been
set
up
in
their
name,
but
they’re
not.”
De
Bruin
said
Westpac
urged
customers
to
adopt
PayID,
“which
provides
even
more
protection”
against
scam
or
mistaken
payments.
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