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The Reserve Bank of South Africa (Sarb) and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), in consultation with the South African Payments Association, have advised the public not to use the instant wire transfer online payment services of funds (EFT) as a payment option.
An instant EFT is a simplified version of a traditional EFT, performed through a third-party platform.
In a notice posted Thursday, financial services regulators said instant EFTs make use of a practice called “screen scraping.” This enables third parties to access bank account data and automate actions on behalf of a consumer, using that consumer’s online banking access credentials.
Effectively use data on a customer’s screen to facilitate payment.
Privacy concerns
Financial authorities said they do not support this practice as it exposes consumers to various risks, such as compromising their access credentials.
“Consumers have no control over their credentials and any other personal data or information accessed by the third party,” the statement warns.
Using these services will also make them vulnerable to potential fraud, as the criminals could pretend to be a third party offering instant EFT services on bogus e-commerce sites, so that they can capture consumers’ login credentials for the websites. Internet banking from your bank.
The statement warns that, from there, such rogue entities can impersonate the consumer and perform any activity that a consumer has access to on their online banking platform, including making real-time payments to themselves, requesting a personal loan, etc.
Read: From Cash to Cloud
Identity theft
There is also the danger that these criminals will access personal data and information, such as account information and monthly statements, and then use them to set up new accounts.
The use of this form of payment could level out consumers without recourse if things go wrong, since “payments by electronic funds transfer are final and irrevocable.” So if a consumer wants to reverse a transaction, they may find it impossible to do so.
Terms and conditions apply
Authorities also warned that by using instant EFT services, clients could be in breach of their banks’ terms and conditions, as they are giving their Internet banking login credentials to third parties.
FNB CEO of Private and Retail Banking Raj Makanjee echoed this concern, saying that consumers should never share or relinquish control of their banking credentials to any third party, whether buying online or at one point. of physical sale.
Makanjee encouraged consumers to use other [bank]-Supported forms of electronic payment methods.
Read: How To Avoid Becoming A Victim Of A Phishing Scam
