KUALA LUMPUR: E-wallet providers will have to fully compensate scam victims within seven working days if they fail to implement Bank Negara’s preventive measures, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister said this would apply even in cases where losses were partly due to user negligence.
“Overall, these measures reflect the government’s and Bank Negara’s commitment to strengthening consumer protection, improving accountability among payment service providers and enhancing public confidence in the security of digital transactions in Malaysia,” he said in a parliamentary written reply to a question from Roy Angau Gingkoi (GPS-Lubok Antu) yesterday.
There was a 26% increase in the number of victims receiving full or partial compensation after the policy was fully implemented, Anwar noted.
Roy had asked whether the government planned to strengthen protection and compensation mechanisms for consumers who fall victim to scams involving e-wallet transactions and digital payments.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said Bank Negara had imposed various regulatory requirements on banking institutions and eligible e-money issuers as preventive measures.
“These include strengthened transaction authentication methods, the implementation of a cooling-off period for high-risk transactions, device binding to a single registered device, dedicated fraud hotlines and the introduction of a ‘kill switch’ function allowing users to immediately freeze their accounts when fraud is suspected,” he noted.
Anwar added that the central bank’s framework also covered cases involving shared responsibility between banks and customers, with compensation determined based on each party’s level of negligence and responsibility.
Under the framework, victims may also seek an independent review through the Financial Market Ombudsman Service if they disagree with a bank’s decision.
He said Bank Negara, together with relevant agencies and the private sector, had also carried out continuous public awareness programmes to educate the public about scams.
On enforcement, Anwar said the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) was set up as a multi- agency initiative to coordinate rapid responses to online financial scams.
“The NSRC’s ability to trace and freeze funds has also been enhanced through the National Fraud Portal, which automates fund-tracing processes to speed up the detection and freezing of suspicious transactions,” he said.
These measures, together with enhanced security controls by financial institutions, helped prevent RM1.2bil in fraudulent transactions in 2025, he added.
