Yahoo Finance 
Over 61,000 Money Lock accounts in Singapore with total savings of over S$5.4 billion set up since Nov 2023
The Money Lock feature is currently offered in Singapore by DBS, OCBC and UOB.
SINGAPORE — More than 61,000 Money Lock accounts, with total savings of over S$5.4 billion set aside in February 2024, have been set up since its launch by local banks in November 2023, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) board member Alvin Tan.
Tan said this in response to a parliamentary question by Member of Parliament for Holland–Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency (GRC) Edward Chia, who had asked about MAS' assessment of the effectiveness of the rollout of the Money Lock feature across local banks in protecting consumers from scams and unauthorised transactions. He also asked about the adoption of the Money Lock feature among bank customers as well as the total value of savings currently safeguarded under the feature.
The Money Lock feature allows bank customers to set aside a portion of funds in their bank accounts that cannot be transferred digitally, thus limiting the amount a customer may lose should their digital banking access be compromised. The feature is currently offered by DBS, UOB and OCBC and will be rolled out by other major retail banks by mid-2024.
No reports of scams involving Money Lock funds
In his reply, Tan said that there have been no reports of phishing or malware scams involving funds under Money Lock to date. He added that MAS will work with banks here to continue to encourage customers to adopt Money Lock and monitor its effectiveness.
"The majority of scams involve individuals transferring their money willingly due to social engineering or deception. There are even cases where individuals insist on transferring their money in spite of intervention by bank staff. These are authorised transactions.
"The defence against such scams is for everyone to be vigilant and sceptical of anyone asking for money to be transferred to them, whether for a relationship, a job or an investment," said Tan.
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