Banks should bear all phishing scam losses

Persistent waves of these scams suggest banks have underinvested in their online platforms even as customers were given no other choice

Ben Paul

Published Mon, Jul 11, 2022 · 05:50 AM

Singapore banks

SOME years ago, I went to one of Singapore’s local banks to remit money overseas. A rather harried-looking employee at the branch told me it would be far easier and cheaper if I did the transaction online.

Not wanting to spend time figuring out how to do it myself, I insisted that she do it for me. She tried a few more times to dissuade me, but eventually gave in and grudgingly did what I asked.

As I walked out of the bank, I was feeling rather irritated. Why did the bank make such a fuss over a simple transaction? Why push me to some do-it-yourself online channel? What happened to customer service?

In fact, I was so turned off by the whole experience that I subsequently learned how to remit money overseas via the bank’s o…