HKMA’s Money Safe plan set to safeguard Hongkongers’ bank balances from fraud

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Additional verification procedures will be necessary to transfer locked-up funds when banks roll out the optional tool next year

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A woman walks past a currency-exchange shop in Causeway Bay with a bank vault painted on its gate, on May 5, 2024. Photo: Jelly Tse

Aileen Chuang

Published: 5:30pm, 3 Dec 2024Updated: 6:05pm, 3 Dec 2024

Hongkongers will be able to lock all or part of their bank account balances in a “Money Safe” starting next year in a move that aims to provide an extra measure of protection against fraud.

Additional verification procedures will be necessary to transfer funds that have been locked up using the optional feature. For example, a bank might require verification in person at a branch, creating a touch point between staff and customers as a safety measure, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).

“We have always aimed to empower customers to have additional options to defend themselves,” Arthur Yuen Kwok-hang, HKMA’s deputy CEO, said in a media briefing on Tuesday.

The effort comes as losses from scam and fraud cases surged 38.6 per cent to HK$5.82 billion (US$748 million) in the first eight months of this year, compared with the same period last year, according to police data. The number of deception cases rose 8 per cent year on year to 32,120 in the first nine months.

Twenty retail banks plus the eight digital banks will launch Money Safe in phases or trials, with a goal of full implementation by the end of next year, HKMA said. Banks will decide on the implementation details based on their own operational arrangements.

Sign up will be voluntary, and customers will be able to protect money in their checking and savings accounts, as well as time-deposit accounts in Hong Kong dollars and foreign currencies. The protected amounts will continue to enjoy the same interest and benefits that the accounts provide.