NatWest to allow bank transfer caps to fight fraud - Expert ...

At present, your bank dictates the maximum amount of money you can ... But those who have made larger transfers previously can choose to ... Weusecookiestoallowusandselectedpartnerstoimproveyourexperienceandouradvertising.Bycontinuingtobrowseyouconsenttoouruseofcookies.Youcanunderstandmoreandchangeyourcookiespreferenceshere. OK x Search MoneyBanking NatWestGroupcustomerscannowsettheirowndailybanktransferlimits,inamoveaimedatreducingfraud,andotherbankscouldfollowsuit,Which?Moneyreveals.  Atpresent,yourbankdictatesthemaximumamountofmoneyyoucansendfromyourcurrentaccountinasingleday,andthiscapvarieswidely. Lloydsonlyallowsdailyonlinetransfersofupto£25,000,forexample,whileBarclaysletsyoutransferupto£50,000,andSantandersetsitscapat£100,000. NatWestishopingthatgivingcustomersmorecontrolwillreduceauthorisedpushpayment(APP)scams–wherevictimsareconvincedtomovemoneytoanaccountcontrolledbyacriminal. ThenumberofreportedAPPscamsroseby22%in2020,withscammersstealing£479m(up5%onthepreviousyear). WhatisNatWestGroupchanging? NatWest,RoyalBankofScotland(RBS)andUlsterBank(allbrandsundertheNatWestGroup)currentlysetadefaultbanktransferlimitof£20,000perdaybutthiswillbereducedto£5,000perday. Customerscanlogintotheironlineaccountstotweakthisdailytransferlimit,makingitlowerthan£5,000orhigher(upto£20,000),astheyplease.Thisappliestodigitalpaymentsonly,nottransfersrequestedbyphoneorinbranch. NatWestGroupsaidthat95%ofitscustomershaveneverpaidsomeoneelsemorethan£5,000.Butthosewhohavemadelargertransferspreviouslycanchoosetokeeptheold£20,000cap. Changingyourdailytransferlimitwillrequiretheuseofacardreaderforsecuritypurposes. NatWesthasconfirmedtoWhich?thatthisisavailabletoonlinebankingusersnow. Findoutmore:bestandworstbanks Willotherbanksletyousetadailytransfercap? Which?askedthelargestcurrentaccountprovidersiftheyplantofollowNatWest’sleadandallowcustomerstosettheirowncaps. NationwideandVirginMoneytoldusthisissomethingthey’reconsideringbringingin. ButtherearenoplanstointroduceadailytransferlimitthatcustomerssetthemselvesatBarclays,HSBC,LloydsBankingGroup,MetroBank,Santander,Starling,TheCo-operativeBankorTSB. Barclayssaidpaymentlimitsarereviewedonaregularbasisbut,fornow,customerscanonlysettheirowndailyATMlimitandspendinglimitsontheircards.Certaintypesofpayments,suchasremotepaymentsorspecificcategorieslikegambling,canalsobeturnedoff. HSBCalsosaidthatpaymentlimitsarereviewedonaregularbasis.TSBsaidithasn’tseencustomerdemandforflexibletransferlimitsbutwillkeepitsapproachunderreview. MetroBanksaid‘thisissomethingwecontinuetoexplore.’ Monzoonlyallowscustomerstoincrease–notdecrease–theirdefaultdailytransferlimitof£10,000,onacase-by-casebasis. StarlingtoldWhich?thatit’s‘notconvincedbytheprotectionitwouldprovide’butsaiditisexploringanewapproachtomanagingpaymentlimits,usingdatatoidentifyunusualpayments: ‘Wewanttobeabletoassessindividualpaymentsthatareoutofcharacterrelativetothecustomer’spaymenthabits.Weareintheprocessofbuildingandimplementingasolutionthatwilllookatthepaymentincontextofthecustomer’saccount,thereasonforpaymentandtheirrelationship/historywiththedestinationofthefunds,todetermineifweneedmoreinformationbeforethepaymentcanbereleased.’ Findoutmore:challengerandmobilebanks Howdopersonalisedpaymentcapscombatfraud? Itremainstobeseenifcustomer-controlledtransferlimitsbecomeanimportantanti-fraudmeasure. Fraudstersaremastermanipulatorswhowilluseeverytrickinthebooktoconvincevictimstoeitheradjustthetransferlimitorsimplysendthemmoneyincrementally. However,thisdoesletcustomerssettheirown‘normal’behaviour,andgreaterfrictionisgenerallypositive–itgivesbanksanotheropportunitytowarnusersaboutfraudorinterveneiftheythinksomethingiswrong. ANatWestspokespersonsaid:‘Italsohelpsinasituationwhereafraudsterhastakencontrolofacustomer’saccountaswithoutthecardreadertheywouldnotbeabletoincreasethedailytransferlimit.’ Whatelsearebanksdoingtoprotectyoufromscams? ThismovefromNatWestisthelatestinalonglineofmeasuresintroducedtocombatAPPscams. Which?calledforbetterprotectionfromAPPscamswhenwelaunchedourSuperComplaintin2016. Mostbankshavesincesigneduptoavoluntarycode–inplacesinceMay2019–committingthemtoreimbursevictimsofAPPfraud,providedcertainstandardshavebeenmet.Alistofsignatoriescanbefoundhere. A,thoughTSBisn’tsigneduptothiscode,itdoesofferaunique‘fraudrefundguarantee’whichpromisestorefundallcustomerswhofallvictimtofraud. Thiscodemarkedahugelyimportantstepintherightdirectionforvictims.However,greatertransparencyisneeded,asinmanycasesWhich?hasseen,banksareblamingcustomersratherthanreimbursingthem. Which?iscallingforallbanksandbuildingsocietiestopublishtheirreimbursementratesonaregularbasis. WealsowantthemtoimplementalayerofdefencecalledConfirmationofPayee.Thisname-checkingsystemtellsyouifthenameofanaccountholderyouintendtopaymatchestheoneheldbythereceivingbank.Itcanhelppreventmistakenpayments(whereyouaccidentallyenterthewrongaccountnumbers)aswellasAPPfraud. Banksthathaven’tyetimplementedConfirmationofPayeeinclude:MetroBank,TescoBank,TheCo-operativeBank,TriodosBank,TSBandVirginMoney. ThebankingindustryisalsoexpandingtheBankingProtocoltotelephoneandonlinebanking.Thisrapid-responseschemeallowsbranchstafftoalertpoliceiftheysuspectacustomerisbeingscammed.Thisexpansionisacrucialsteptohelpvulnerablecustomerswhohavebeenunabletovisittheirlocalbranchduringlockdown. However,branchstaffneedregulartrainingtokeepupwiththelatesttacticsusedbyscammersandtoensuretheyasktherightquestionstoprotectcustomersandalertthepolice. Findoutmore:whattodoifyou’reavictimofbanktransferfraud Sharethispage ShareonFacebook ShareonTwitter Sharebyemail Moreonthis Banksroutinelyblamefraudvictims Investmentscammersrunriotonsearchengines FraudvictimsurgedtogotoOmbudsman Relatedarticles Newmortgagedealallowsyoutoborrowseventimesyourannualincome Thestrangestscamsof2021 12mortgageandhousepricepredictionsforfirst-timebuyersandhomeownersin2022 AllMoneynews Sharethispage ShareonFacebook ShareonTwitter Sharebyemail Backtotop Backtotop