From 1 July, scam prevention must keep pace with payments
Australia’s Scams Prevention Framework changes on 1 July, with banks, telecommunications providers and digital platforms expected to prove what they did to stop a scam before money left an account.
Trent Gunthorpe, General Manager, Pacific Region at ACI Worldwide, said the framework marks a shift from reacting after losses to trying to prevent scams earlier across the wider scam ecosystem.
“Scams rarely originate inside a bank,” Gunthorpe said. “They may start with a text message, social media advertisement or fraudulent investment website, but by the time a customer initiates a payment, the bank is often the last line of defence.”
Australia runs a real-time payments system through the NPP and PayID. As a result, institutions get only a small window to spot suspicious behaviour and stop a fraudulent transaction.
Trent Gunthorpe on 1 July
Gunthorpe said consumers increasingly expect banks, telecommunications providers and digital platforms to work together to identify risks earlier and intervene before funds leave an account.
“The challenge from 1 July is ensuring scam detection and intervention can operate at the same speed as the payments themselves,” Gunthorpe said.
One of the biggest changes under the framework is a focus on accountability and evidence. Organisations will need to show what protections existed and how effectively those protections were applied before a scam occurred.
ACI Worldwide said its global survey on fraud and financial crime found 51% of organisations have already deployed AI for fraud prevention. Another 47% are implementing AI capabilities expected to go live within the next 24 months.
Many scams begin before a payment is initiated, including through a text message, phone call, social media advertisement or fake investment platform.
Because of that, the framework’s success will depend on whether intelligence can be shared quickly enough to disrupt a scam before a payment is executed. That challenge differs from investigating a scam after money has already gone.
Gunthorpe said regulators in overseas markets are increasingly making organisations accountable for scam outcomes, not just scam processes.
The UK has an authorised push payment reimbursement regime, while Singapore has a Shared Responsibility Framework. Both have raised the cost of failing to prevent scams.
Australia’s framework reflects the same shift. Gunthorpe said the organisations that succeed will be those that can identify threats and intervene before money moves.
He said the measure of success is simple: fewer Australians losing money to scams.
