Deadline for anti-fraud systems set

Banks and other financial institutions may be held liable for fraud suffered by their clients if they fail to implement fraud management systems (FMS) within the mandated one-year transition period, a top Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) official said.

- BY DERCO ROSAL

BSP Deputy Governor Elmore O. Capule told reporters on the sidelines of the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) press briefing on Wednesday, June 11, that financial institutions may face serious consequences if they fail to comply with the new law.

First, they may face administrative sanctions. Second, “if somebody gets defrauded and their system is not ready, they can be held civilly liable. So instead of going after the scammer, the institution will have to pay,” Capule said.

“If you fail to comply with the fraud management system, then you can be held civilly liable for the damage caused to the victim,” Capule asserted, adding that the likelihood of falling victim to frauds could be lesser if financial institutions had already built FMS.