Touch ‘n Go raises security, fraud prevention bar among eWallets

• First eWallet to voluntarily meet new security measures imposed by BNM
• Greater focus is in line with vision of building financially literate society

Aiming to seize the advantage in Malaysia’s very competitive eWallets market, Touch ‘n Go (TnG), the largest eWallet by users has seized upon rising consumers fears over eWallet and online transactions to become the first eWallet player to commit to incorporating the five key measures which have been recently imposed on banks by Bank Negara Malaysia to combat financial scams.

As a non-bank provider, TnG has volunteered to incorporate the new safety and security measures, by the first quarter of 2023:

 According to Bursa Malaysia, losses from reported scams amounted to US$1.15 billion (RM5.2 billion) over a two-year period during the Covid-19 pandemic, with many more cases that went unreported.

In line with its vision of building a more financially literate society, Alan Ni, Chief Executive Officer of TNG Digital Sdn Bhd said, “Touch ‘n Go eWallet places great emphasis on privacy and security features to safeguard our users’ interests. We believe that the measures we have put in place will give our users peace of mind that the money in their eWallet is protected and every transaction they make is safe and secure.”

The measures it has embarked on taking are:

1. Enhance security by adding more authentication methods to complement the current methods.
2. Tighten fraud rules and block suspicious transactions.
3. Verification and cooling-off period for first-time enrolment of services, secure device, or profile document.
4. Restrict authentication of e-transactions to ONE mobile device or secure device per account holder.
5. Have a dedicated customer service channel/hotline for incident reports and suspicions of scams and fraud. (It does not have this for now.)

[Ed note: Aside from No 5, it is not clear how the impending measures will be any different from what is in place now. DNA has asked for clarity]

TnG believes that, once in place, these security standards are expected to further reinforce safeguards against fraudulent transactions, and strengthen the confidence and trust among merchants, and eWallet communities with regards to the safety and security of Touch ‘n Go eWallet.  

TnG notes that is the first eWallet to be a part of the National Scam Response Center, set up by the Malaysian government to streamline coordination between agencies for a rapid response towards online financial scams.

Further information about Touch ‘n Go eWallet’s safety and security, can be obtained here