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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is exploring account name–number matching to reduce transfer errors and fraud, building on global experience and preparing for alignment with evolving international standards.
Such verification of payee-style rules would require banks to match account names with account numbers before processing transfers.
Responding to a parliamentary question, deputy prime minister and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) chair Gan Kim Yong said the regulator has been reviewing other countries’ experiences with account name–number matching. He added that MAS is working with the banking industry to assess possible approaches and solutions.
At present, banks in Singapore do not check whether an account name corresponds to an account number before processing transfers. Customers who make an error must approach their bank, which then liaises with the recipient’s bank to contact the unintended recipient and seek a refund.
“There is clear guidance and protocols in place to guide banks’ actions in such erroneous transfer situations,” Kim Yong said.
“We urge consumers to be vigilant against demands for fund transfers from any person. Particularly, government officials will never ask members of the public to transfer money, disclose banking log-in details, install mobile apps from unofficial app stores or transfer calls to the Police,” he warned.
“When unsure, do not proceed. To prevent erroneous transfers, consumers can adopt measures such as confirming the account number or Paynow details of the intended recipient before performing the transfer.”
Change is coming
Although Kim Yong struck an ambivalent tone, some form of verification appears likely, given MAS’s increasingly interventionist approach in recent years.
As explored in Vixio’s 2025 Fraud Outlook, Singapore has rolled out a multi-pronged anti-scam regime combining legislation, regulation and enforcement.
The Protection From Scams Act (2024) empowers police to freeze victims’ accounts via “restriction orders” to block transfers to scammers. In addition, the Shared Responsibility Framework (SRF), effective since December 2024, imposes anti-phishing duties on banks and telcos. The rules make them liable for losses if safeguards such as device login cooling-off periods, real-time alerts and fraud surveillance are not met.
Meanwhile, the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA), fully enforced since June 2024, targets platforms such as Facebook Marketplace, Carousell and Telegram. It already requires seller verification alongside other measures such as proactive scam detection.
The UK has operated confirmation of payee since 2020, and eurozone countries are preparing for an October 9 deadline by which financial institutions must comply with the EU’s new Verification of Payee (VoP) rules.
Singapore will also need to comply with the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) revised Recommendation 16.
This will require financial institutions to “make use of new technologies that protect against fraud and error, such as verification of recipients’ banking information”. As a result, the uptake of such mechanisms is likely to become far more widespread.
