The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) and National Cards Group (NCG) reassure the public that the unauthorised contactless transation via POS terminal incident did not occur in Malaysia and that such fraudulent activity is unlikely to happen due to the stringent merchant onboarding process undertaken by the banks and/or financial institutions.
Reference is made to a video circulating on social media platforms recently which features a man using a portable Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal to perform an unauthorised contactless transaction by tapping the POS terminal to the pocket of the cardholder which contains a contactless payment card.
Only registered businesses (approved merchants) that have undergone a customer due diligence process by the banks or financial institutions are eligible to apply for a POS terminal facility. All transactions made at a POS terminal must be processed by a bank and/or financial institution and all these transactions are traceable.
In addition, cardholders are protected from losses suffered arising from fraudulent activities as long as they undertake the following safety steps:
1. Keep payment card secure at all times (e.g. do not leave the card or an item containing the card unattended or allow another person to use the card); and
2. Report any loss or unauthorised usage of the payment card to the bank and/or financial institution as soon as reasonably practicable.
Apart from the above, there is a limit per transaction for contactless payments which is set by the banks and/or financial institutions. Any transaction above the limit must be authorised using a PIN which is only known to the cardholder. In this regard, cardholders who wish to lower the transaction limit or disable the contactless functionality are advised to contact their respective banks and/or financial institutions.
