The bank features that can slow a scammer down, from Money Lock to the 24-hour hold

The call sounds official. The caller knows your name, says there is a problem with your account and that your savings must be moved “to a safe account” today. By the time many victims realise what has happened, the money has gone in several quick transfers. Singapore’s banks have spent the past few years adding friction to exactly that pattern, and some of the protections only work if customers know they exist.

This guide explains the main safeguards in plain terms: the 24-hour hold that began in October 2025, Money Lock and the kill switch. It does not compare or recommend banks; each bank names and runs its features slightly differently.

The 24-hour hold on fast account draining

On 3 October 2025, the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) announced that from 15 October 2025 the major retail banks, namely DBS, OCBC, UOB, Citibank, HSBC, Maybank and Standard Chartered, would apply enhanced fraud surveillance to all digital transactions.

The safeguard covers current and savings accounts, including joint accounts, with balances of at least S$50,000. It is triggered when a transaction, together with withdrawals over the past 24 hours, would move more than 50% of the account’s balance out. That transaction and every later one out of the account is then either held for 24 hours or rejected.

Invented figures for an account holding S$60,000 at the start, applying the rule in the ABS release. Each bank sets out its own implementation details.

The hold is a cognitive break. ABS says it gives victims who initiated the transfer themselves time to realise they have been scammed and cancel it, through the app, internet banking or the contact centre. If the transfer is genuine, customers need do nothing: the funds are released automatically after the cooling period.

What is exempt, and what is not affected

The safeguard applies to digital banking only, through apps and internet banking. Cash withdrawals at branches and ATMs are not affected. ABS lists examples of digital transactions that are exempt even if the threshold is hit: recurring standing instructions, recurring GIRO or eGIRO payments, and bill payments to organisations the bank classifies as billing organisations.

The cost is some delay to legitimate large payments. ABS advises customers to plan time-sensitive transactions, such as share purchases, in advance. In exceptional cases where an urgent transfer is held, the customer can verify it with the bank at a branch, at an ATM or by calling the contact centre, depending on the bank.

Money Lock: savings that cannot be moved digitally

Money Lock is a feature that lets you set aside part of your savings so that it cannot be transferred digitally. In a written reply to Parliament on 29 February 2024, MAS explained that this limits what a customer can lose if their digital banking access is compromised. The three local banks launched it in November 2023 and other major retail banks were to follow by mid-2024. MAS also noted that DBS now lets customers lock funds within the same account rather than opening a new one, and that locked funds there continue to earn the prevailing interest rate.

Unlocking is deliberately harder than locking, which is the point; each bank sets out how it is done. MAS reported that, at that time, there had been no reports of phishing or malware scams involving funds under Money Lock. It added an important caveat: most scams involve people transferring money willingly after being deceived, and those authorised transfers are best stopped by vigilance.

“The defence against such scams is for everyone to be vigilant and sceptical of anyone asking for money to be transferred to them, whether for a relationship, a job or an investment.” MAS, 29 February 2024

The kill switch

An older measure still matters. Following measures announced by MAS and ABS in 2022, banks provide an emergency self-service “kill switch” that lets customers suspend their accounts quickly if they suspect their bank accounts have been compromised. It is worth finding it in your banking app now, while nothing is wrong, and showing older relatives where theirs is.

The same 2022 package set the default limit for online funds transfers at S$5,000 or lower, so raising it is a deliberate step worth thinking about, and it strongly encouraged customers to use banks’ mobile apps rather than web browsers, to reduce the risk of landing on fake websites. Since December 2024, MAS’s Shared Responsibility Framework has also set out duties for banks and telecommunications companies against phishing scams, including the fraud surveillance that the October 2025 safeguard builds on.

Good to know

ABS said banks would also send in-app push notifications for acknowledgement when they make outbound calls to customers who use digital tokens, so a genuine call from your bank can be confirmed in the app.

The scams these features are built for

Benefit payments are a favourite pretext. Messages about “unlocking” a government payout, claiming vouchers or a “refund” arrive every time a scheme is in the news. The official rules are simple: government officers will never ask you to transfer money or disclose bank login details over a phone call; AP Cash and GST Voucher payments arrive automatically; and genuine CDC Voucher links come only after you claim at go.gov.sg/cdcv. See our guides to the December Assurance Package payment and CDC Vouchers for the details.

Who this matters for, and what to check

• Anyone with S$50,000 or more in a current or savings account: expect large digital transfers to be held sometimes.
• Older parents with savings they rarely touch: Money Lock adds a strong barrier against digital theft.
• Everyone with a banking app: find the kill switch before you need it.
• People planning a large legitimate payment: allow time, or use non-digital channels.
• Anyone unsure about a call or message: hang up and call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline on 1799, or your bank’s number from its official website.

The takeaway

None of these features makes scams impossible, but together they buy time: a 24-hour pause when an account is emptied fast, savings that cannot be moved digitally, and a switch that freezes everything in seconds. The most effective step is still the oldest one: never share personal or account credentials, and verify any caller through the bank’s own contact details. For what happens to deposits in the very different case of a bank failure, see deposit insurance and the S$100,000 limit.