Southeast Asian Regulators Unite to Combat Digital Financial Crime at BOT Symposium 2025
Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand unveil stronger legislative, technological, and cooperative strategies to fight online fraud
At the BOT Symposium 2025 in Bangkok, financial authorities from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand gathered under the theme “Towards Safer and More Inclusive Digital Finance” to share emerging strategies to counter increasingly complex threats in the digital finance sector.
Central banks and regulators emphasised that preventing scams now demands not just detection, but systemic resilience, public education, and legislative backing.
Nancy Chau of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority warned of a “cyber arms race” in which fraudsters adapt rapidly.
She described efforts to bolster the financial ecosystem through legislative changes and platforms for sharing intelligence, including customer data sharing, and reinforced use of artificial intelligence to monitor suspicious transactions.
Public awareness campaigns spanning all age groups are also being scaled.
Wenhua Chew of the Monetary Authority of Singapore revealed that “voluntary fund transfer fraud”—cases in which victims willingly transfer funds under misrepresentation—has surged nearly two hundred percent in the first half of 2025, resulting in losses above SGD 126 million.
Singapore’s response includes prevention, detection, law enforcement, fund recovery, and user education, stressing that convenience in digital payments must be matched by security.
Representatives from Malaysia, led by Nor Halimaton Sa’adiah Abdul Halim from Bank Negara Malaysia, stated that about ninety-five percent of online fraud cases involve victims confirming transactions themselves—through phishing, malware, or similar tricks.
Malaysia has strengthened identity verification (moving beyond SMS one-time-passwords), built in “cooling-off” periods for suspect transactions, and implemented kill-switches allowing rapid freezing of accounts.
There is also emphasis on shared responsibility among banks, telecoms, social media platforms, and users.
In Thailand, Oramon Janthapan of the Bank of Thailand stressed that detection is only the first step.
Her country is mandating continuous alerts to customers, financial literacy initiatives (including digital finance education in schools), and forging partnerships with social media influencers to extend reach.
Legislation is also underway to create a Financial Risk Data Hub to consolidate data from financial institutions, telecom providers, and online platforms to improve information sharing.
Participants agreed that no single entity—regulatory agencies, financial institutions, or governments—can bear the burden alone.
Cross-sector cooperation, technological investment, and public vigilance were declared essential.
The symposium closed with the refrain: “Prevention is the best shield,” underscoring a collective resolve to deny fraudsters any enduring foothold in the digital economy.
Central banks and regulators emphasised that preventing scams now demands not just detection, but systemic resilience, public education, and legislative backing.
Nancy Chau of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority warned of a “cyber arms race” in which fraudsters adapt rapidly.
She described efforts to bolster the financial ecosystem through legislative changes and platforms for sharing intelligence, including customer data sharing, and reinforced use of artificial intelligence to monitor suspicious transactions.
Public awareness campaigns spanning all age groups are also being scaled.
Wenhua Chew of the Monetary Authority of Singapore revealed that “voluntary fund transfer fraud”—cases in which victims willingly transfer funds under misrepresentation—has surged nearly two hundred percent in the first half of 2025, resulting in losses above SGD 126 million.
Singapore’s response includes prevention, detection, law enforcement, fund recovery, and user education, stressing that convenience in digital payments must be matched by security.
Representatives from Malaysia, led by Nor Halimaton Sa’adiah Abdul Halim from Bank Negara Malaysia, stated that about ninety-five percent of online fraud cases involve victims confirming transactions themselves—through phishing, malware, or similar tricks.
Malaysia has strengthened identity verification (moving beyond SMS one-time-passwords), built in “cooling-off” periods for suspect transactions, and implemented kill-switches allowing rapid freezing of accounts.
There is also emphasis on shared responsibility among banks, telecoms, social media platforms, and users.
In Thailand, Oramon Janthapan of the Bank of Thailand stressed that detection is only the first step.
Her country is mandating continuous alerts to customers, financial literacy initiatives (including digital finance education in schools), and forging partnerships with social media influencers to extend reach.
Legislation is also underway to create a Financial Risk Data Hub to consolidate data from financial institutions, telecom providers, and online platforms to improve information sharing.
Participants agreed that no single entity—regulatory agencies, financial institutions, or governments—can bear the burden alone.
Cross-sector cooperation, technological investment, and public vigilance were declared essential.
The symposium closed with the refrain: “Prevention is the best shield,” underscoring a collective resolve to deny fraudsters any enduring foothold in the digital economy.
