FNB welcomes an alert issued by regulators on risks of instant EFT payments to consumers

Consumers urged to avoid sharing banking information when shopping on third-party platforms

As South Africans prepare for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, FNB is encouraging consumers to heed a caution issued by the SARB, PASA and the FSCA on the risks associated with instant EFT payments when shopping online.

Instant EFT payments require the use of ‘screen scraping’, which is a practice where the consumer allows a merchant to access their bank account to process online payments. This effectively means that a consumer has to share banking information which they should not be sharing with any third-party.

Chief Executive of FNB Retail and Private Banking, Raj Makanjee says: “We welcome this timely caution on the risks of exposing one’s banking information to a third-party. The practice of ‘screen scraping’ makes it incredibly difficult for consumers to protect themselves against cyber fraud and other criminal acts which target banking customers. Over the years, we have been working closely with industry partners to highlight the dangers of ‘screen scraping’ while providing safer payments methods.”

“Our message is simple; consumers must never share or cede control of their banking credentials to any third-party whether shopping online or at a physical point of sale. As a bank, we welcome the increasing use of digital platforms among consumers because it aligns with our efforts to ensure that customers have access to safer and convenient banking and payment methods. Furthermore, we are increasingly making it easier for our customers to use safer ways to shop online as well as at a point of sale,” adds Makanjee.

As SA’s best digital bank, FNB helps customers with many convenient, easy and much safer ways to make payments, including our convenient Scan to Pay functionality that is available on the FNB App and RMB Private Bank App, as well as their safe and secure FNB App or RMB Private Bank credit, debit and Fusion cards, which are the ideal way to transact digitally without compromising your security. The Bank also encourages customers to make use of eBucks shop platform which is a safer and convenient alternative for online shopping.