Author: Philip vanDyk

“These new scam protection measures are a huge step up in the fight against scams. Banks already do a lot to identify and help prevent scams, and these new measures will enhance tech solutions to help protect customers from increasingly sophisticated scams,” said NZBA chief executive Roger Beaumont.

Banks may have to reimburse scam victims up to $500,000 under new measures being rolled out in the sector. New Zealand Banking Association chief executive Roger Beaumont spoke to Charlotte Cook.

Telco companies and digital platforms need to step up to protect people from scams. That’s the message from the New Zealand Banking Association as they roll out a new suite of their own protective measures.

Where a bank fails to meet the five new commitments, institutions will compensate all or part of the loss for eligible customers. Banks will also retain the discretion to pay compensation beyond what is set out in the code.

“Banks will use this time to ensure the new consumer protections work well from the start. That includes designing and implementing changes to each bank’s systems, processes, and staff training, alongside other change priorities. The updated Code of Banking Practice will go live on 30 November 2025 once all the new measures are in place.”

“Banks are stepping up their customer protections and will be accountable for those measures, but they cannot take on full liability for scam losses that are beyond their control and may, for example, start with a fake ad or chat on social media, or a fake search engine result,” he said.

“Banks already do a lot to identify and help prevent scams, and these new measures will enhance tech solutions to help protect customers from increasingly sophisticated scams.”

Banking Association chief executive Roger Beaumont said the new scam protection measures were “a huge step up in the fight against scams”.