Customers of DBS Bank in Singapore can now lock or unlock their debit or credit cards, enable or disable certain types of transaction — including contactless and mobile payments — and set a monthly spending limit for their card accounts from their digital banking app in real time.

The bank has introduced six new self-managed card payment control features to “provide an additional layer of protection to customers to safeguard their card accounts and protect against fraudulent transactions,” DBS says.

The new security features allow cardholders to:

• Temporarily lock their card if they misplace it or think that it’s been stolen — and unlock it again for immediate use if they find it;
• Enable or disable online ecommerce transactions on all local and international websites;
• Activate or deactivate the card for use in face-to-face transactions overseas;
• Switch on or off contactless card and mobile payments at local and overseas merchants;
• Enable or disable cash advance transactions with their credit card;
• Set a monthly spending limit lower than their current credit limit.

“Principal cardholders will be able to manage access and stipulate spend limits on their own cards, as well as on their supplementary cards,” DBS explains.

“In addition, customers will receive instant alerts whenever a transaction is blocked due to pre-set controls, which provides them a greater peace of mind and an enhanced level of protection from fraud.”

Pilot success

DBS began piloting the new card payment control features in August and says that some 20,000 customers have already activated the service, with “the ability to disable cash advances, as well as overseas ‘face to face’ transactions [being] the top-most popular functions”.

“Safeguarding our customers’ interests and money is our top priority,” DBS’s Anthony Seow adds.

“As people increasingly turn to digital payments and online shopping, it remains paramount that we have in place robust security measures to protect our customers.

“The new self-managed card payment control features serve as multiple locks that cardholders can choose to activate in order to block unauthorised transactions.

“They add to the existing data analytics tools, as well as monitoring and surveillance systems that form our multi-layered defence to effectively screen, thwart and deter fraudulent activities.”

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