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.