To secure the interests of consumers and small businesses of Singapore dealing in electronic payments (e-payments), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has proposed new guidelines today.
“The proposed E-payments User Protection Guidelines aim to encourage wider adoption of e-payments by setting standards on the responsibilities of financial institutions and e-payment users,” MAS said in its media release.
In addition to this, a public consultation ending on March 16 has also been launched to gather feedback from consumers and industry players, with plans for the proposal to kick in within the first half of the year.
“Under the new Guidelines, individuals and micro-enterprises who hold e-payment accounts can expect financial institutions to provide timely notifications of all e-payment transactions. Financial institutions will be expected to set clear resolution processes for unauthorised or erroneous payment transactions. The Guidelines also set out the responsibilities of e-payments users, including good security practices they should adopt to protect their passwords and e-payment accounts, said MAS in the press release.
“MAS hopes that these guidelines will help to make e-payments simpler and more secure, and give individuals and micro-enterprises more confidence to adopt and integrate e-payments into their daily activities,” said, Jacqueline Loh, MAS Deputy Managing Director.
Copies of the public consultation paper and policy highlights document are available on the MAS website. It has also invited e-payment users, financial institutions, and businesses to give feedback on the proposed guidelines.