🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Digital banks’ scam share is high; claim values stay small versus Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre (FIDReC) totals

• Digital banks logged 94 scam or fraud claims by August 2025, up 124% from 42 in 2024. The S$2.5 million in claims stays small next to the S$103 million total across all claim types handled by the Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre (FIDReC) in FY2024/2025 1. Scams made up 84% of digital-bank claims, versus 38% of all cases at FIDReC in FY2023/2024 2.
• Their share of industry claims climbed from 2.1% in 2023 to 8.7% as at August 31, 2025 1, 2. Most cases involved compromised credentials or impersonation 1, 2.

New transfer hold reshapes banks’ fraud controls; implications for digital banks

• A new industry rule lets banks delay large transfers from accounts with balances of S$50,000 or more. Banks must enforce the 50% within 24 hours withdrawal threshold. Recurring GIRO (Singapore’s interbank direct debit system), eGIRO (the electronic version), and bill payments to recognised billing organisations stay exempt 3, 4. The rule raises the need for transaction monitoring tools that plug into core banking APIs.
• Fraud detection vendors may see digital banks as ready customers. They need real-time behavioural analytics to flag credential compromise before a 24-hour hold ends. They also need explainable models to defend decisions, aligned to Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) guidance. GXS, Trust, and MariBank are growing retail operations amid closer Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre (FIDReC) scrutiny 3, 4, 1.