I was doing some late night shopping at 2 am in the morning last weekend when I got a rude shock – my credit card was rendered unusable because of a new online security measure.
My mobile phone number was apparently not registered with my bank. As such, the website was unable to process my purchase because my bank could not send me the one-time password (OTP) that it now requires to authenticate each online transaction.
In March this year, the Association of Banks in Singapore introduced four measures to increase the security of payment card transactions.
Among this was the implementation of an OTP for transactions that do not involve using the actual card itself, such as when making purchases online.
Measures like these are beneficial to both banks and consumers, as they can reduce the chances that a lost card or stolen credit card information can be used to make unauthorised transactions.
Unfortunately for me, I had not received information in advance, telling me to take additional steps to register my phone number.
Half an hour and two phone calls later, a customer service officer on the overnight shift agreed to get someone to call me the next working day to get the problem fixed. A week went by.
It was only after two more phone calls that the bank finally managed to sort the problem out and I was able to shop online again a fortnight later.
Making my online shopping experience a more secure one is always a welcome change. But I don't see why I should be the one paying the price for it.
The call from a bank employee to verify my contact details only lasted a minute. But I had spent more than an hour on the phone while being put on hold, as I told my bank to get that employee to call me.
As more Singaporeans start to embrace online shopping, banks have shown they are taking a step forward to help protect their customers from fraud.
But I feel that as credit card service providers, the onus is also on the banks to make sure that the implementation of such new security measures is made as painless as possible.