The bank will decline or hold certain payments to cryptocurrency exchanges for 24 hours and plans to introduce a $10,000 limit for such payments in a calendar month, to identify the customer payments for cryptocurrency purchases
CBA to check scams related to cryptocurrency payments. (Credit: Commonwealth Bank of Australia)
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has introduced new measures to help protect customers from the risk of scams related to payments to cryptocurrency exchanges.
According to the company, customers who currently make payments to cryptocurrency exchanges are facing a significantly higher risk of potentially being scammed.
The Australian bank said that it will decline or hold certain payments to cryptocurrency exchanges for 24 hours.
Also, it plans to introduce a $10,000 limit for such payments in a calendar month, to identify the customer payments to exchanges for cryptocurrency purchases.
Commonwealth Bank group fraud management services general manager James Roberts said: “Consumer interest in cryptocurrencies has been increasing and unfortunately scammers globally are capitalising on this trend and masquerading as legitimate investment opportunities or diverting funds into cryptocurrency exchanges.
“With the incidences of scams increasing and in many cases customers suffering significant losses from being scammed, the introduction of 24-hour holds, declines and limits on outbound payments to cryptocurrency exchanges will help reduce both the number of scams and the amount of money lost by customers.”
CBA said that it will closely monitor the impacts of its scam response measures, which will be subject to ongoing review.
The new measures follow the bank’s announcement to provide its NameCheck technology to the government and other financial services providers in Australia to fight scams and fraud.
NameCheck leverages advanced technology and available payment data to indicate whether the account details entered by the customer match a BSB and account number.
CBA is currently offering the NameCheck technology to its customers through its CommBank App, NetBank and business customers on CommBiz.
Roberts added: “While these measures will not eliminate the risk of customers suffering losses as a result of a scam that involves a payment to a cryptocurrency exchange, they are part of a range of initiatives designed to help customers reduce their risk of falling victim to a scam.
“Across Australia, a whole-of-ecosystem approach is required to combat scams and CBA is committed to helping keep customers safe, as part of a broader national focus by government, regulators, banks and other industry sectors.
“We are committed to being part of the broader solution with the government, regulators, banks, telcos and other industry sectors to keep Australians safe.”