SINGAPORE – PayNow users will no longer be able to customise their display names from June 6. Instead, transactions will reflect the name registered with their bank, with certain letters masked for privacy.
In a statement on April 29, the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) said the PayNow nickname feature for retail customers will be discontinued to strengthen protection against impersonation scams.
“This approach balances the use of real names as a safeguard against account impersonation, while being mindful of privacy considerations,” ABS said.
With this change, PayNow users will be able to see the name of the retail payee before a payment is made, instead of a nickname chosen by the payee.
Previously, scammers could exploit the nickname feature by using the names of established entities or trusted individuals as their PayNow nicknames, making it easy for them to dupe victims into transferring money to fraudulent accounts.
