ACCC to allow cross-banking collaboration on scam prevention

The ACCC has authorised the Australian Banking Association (ABA) and its members to share insights and develop an industry standard to tackle financial scams.

The ACCC announced its conditional interim authorisation on Thursday, which would allow the ABA and its members to collaborate with the aim to prevent, detect, and disrupt scams impacting Australians.

The ABA and its members must apply for authorisation to partake in talks, with further approval needed to implement standards arising from discussions.

ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said a “coordinated response across government, law enforcement and the private sector” is “essential” to fight against scams which are “evolving rapidly and with increasing sophistication.”

“We have acted quickly on this interim authorisation because the proliferation of scams is causing significant detriment to consumers and businesses alike, and the banking sector has a key role in combating scams and recovering losses," Lowe said.

“The ABA will be required to provide regular reports on any industry initiatives they propose such as circumstances where customers would be reimbursed or entitled to remedies."

Authorisation is designed to manage risks surfacing from banks organising anything beyond scam prevention and customer compensation.

The ACCC said it’s also aware of the federal government's intention to legislate a cross-industry code for banks, telcos social media platforms and other sectors.

Banks under the new arrangement cover AMP Bank, ANZ, Bank Australia, Bank of Queensland Limited, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited, Citigroup, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, HSBC, ING Bank, J.P. Morgan Australia and New Zealand, Macquarie Bank, MUFG Bank, National Australia Bank, Rabobank Australia, Suncorp Bank and Westpac.

Whole-of-ecosystem approach

Commenting on the news, an ABA spokesperson told iTnews that banks “have been working hard on initiatives they can each take to help keep Australians safe from the scourge of scams.”

“The ACCC’s authorisation will allow banks to focus on more collective initiatives to prevent and disrupt scams, as well as work with telcos, social media and crypto platforms on initiatives those industries can take to stop scams at the source," the spokesperson said.

Many of the major banks have already sought a more collaborative approach to deal with the rate of growth in scam-related and other fraudulent behaviour.

This past June, CBA’s head of blockchain, Sophie Gilder, called for a “whole of ecosystem” approach to dealing with scams.

Gilder said “banks alone can't fix this problem”; that industries “need to be sharing data" and that it “would be incredibly useful” to be able to “work together in a more efficient manner.”

NAB’s CEO Ross McEwan has previously stated a ‘Team Australia’ approach is needed across all industries to combat scams.

Another way of cross-collaboration is the formation of the Fraud Reporting Exchange (FRX), owned and operated by the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange (AFCX).

The majors and many other Australian banks signed on to use a new digital platform developed to respond in real-time to fraudulent transactions earlier this year.

The government also launched a national anti-scam centre in July which recently kicked of its first ‘fusion cell’ or taskforce targeting SMS sender ID registry services.