Scam Prevention in Payments: Confirmation of Payee, Frameworks, and Real-Time Defences
Understanding Australia’s Scam Controls
Australia is moving to a whole-of-ecosystem model for scam prevention, combining government policy, banking-industry initiatives and cross-sector coordination. The proposed Scams Prevention Framework (SPF) formalises duties across platforms and payments, complementing the work of the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC) to reduce losses and harden the system end-to-end.
A key banking control rolling out across 2024–2025 is Confirmation of Payee (CoP), a name-check service that compares the payee name you enter with the account name held by the receiving bank, warning you when they don’t match. CoP is being delivered nationally through Australian Payments Plus and the ABA’s ScamSafe programme.
Early outcomes are encouraging: Scamwatch reports show material declines in reported losses and volumes, reflecting coordinated interventions across banks, telcos and digital platforms.
Why It Matters
Scams create conduct, operational and financial crime risk. Weak controls lead to customer harm, remediation, complaints, and higher fraud losses. Strong controls reduce authorised payment scams and misdirection, protect vulnerable customers, and improve regulator and partner confidence (schemes, correspondent banks). ASIC’s multi-bank reviews have also lifted expectations on governance, data, detection, response and recovery.
Key Challenges Facing Firms
Perimeter clarity & accountability under the SPF: knowing which obligations fall on your business and how to evidence compliance.
Real-time detection: combining device, session, behavioural and payment signals without creating excessive customer friction.
Payee-verification coverage: embedding CoP across channels, journeys and payment types (including PayID and account-to-account flows).
Mule-account management: proactive detection, triage, freezing and exit processes that withstand audit.
Customer journeys & warnings: clear, timely, context-aware interventions that actually change behaviour.
Recovery playbooks: interbank recall/hold processes, evidence packs and MI to demonstrate diligence.
Assurance & MI: board-level dashboards, root-cause analysis, and independent effectiveness testing (per ASIC expectations).
How OCG Can Help
Oceanic Consulting Group (OCG) helps banks, payments firms and fintechs operationalise scam defences that are practical, defensible and measurable.
Our services include:
SPF readiness & target operating model — roles, RACI, controls library, evidence packs and programme governance mapped to regulatory expectations.
CoP & payee-verification deployment — requirements, risk rules, exception handling, customer messaging and success metrics across channels.
Real-time detection uplift — scenario design (payment redirection, investment romance, remote access), scoring and step-up controls.
Mule-account lifecycle — monitoring, alerting, case management, exit and law-enforcement interfaces.
Recovery & response playbooks — interbank recall flows, customer comms, vulnerable-customer treatment and complaint alignment.
Assurance & MI — control-effectiveness testing, dashboards for boards/executives, and independent reviews aligned to ASIC’s findings.
FAQs
What is Confirmation of Payee and why does it matter?
It’s an industry-wide name-check before you send money. CoP reduces misdirected and scam payments by warning customers when the account name doesn’t match the entered details.
Is there a mandatory reimbursement rule in Australia?
Policy work is evolving under the SPF to create incentives and responsibilities across the ecosystem rather than a single-party liability model; firms should plan for clearer duties and potential compensation expectations.
Are scam losses actually falling?
Yes, NASC/Scamwatch report significant declines in reported losses and volumes, indicating that coordinated controls are working, though vigilance remains essential.
Strengthen Your Scam-Control Framework
Work with OCG’s Financial Crime & Payments Specialists
Protect customers and your brand with evidence-rich scam controls. We’ll design SPF-ready operating models, deploy CoP and behavioural defences, and stand up recovery and assurance so you can demonstrate effectiveness to boards, partners and regulators.
