Borrow
NAB says 'no' to financial abuse
NAB’s bolstered security protocol has blocked more than 10,000 abusive transactions from 6,800 unique customers last month.
NAB says 'no' to financial abuse
NAB’s bolstered security protocol has blocked more than 10,000 abusive transactions from 6,800 unique customers last month.
NAB is cracking down on financial abuse by introducing increased measures to automatically block abusive and threatening transaction descriptions.
Under the changes, payments in the NAB app on iOS and Android that feature offensive words and phrases won’t be processed.
Customers attempting to include any one of the 1,300 offensive words and phrases flagged by NAB will get a real-time message advising they’ll need to change the description for the transaction to proceed.
According to recent research, conducted by Deloitte and commissioned by Commonwealth Bank, the direct cost of financial abuse in 2020 amounted to a staggering $5.7 billion. The research revealed as many as 623,000 Australians were victims of financial abuse, representing roughly 380,000 women and 240,000 men.
Doing its part to put a stop to this prevalent form of abuse, NAB has dedicated an entire team of trained professionals who review information on blocked transactions, issue warnings and refer customers to support services.
“Our system is now smarter than ever,” said NAB executive for personal banking, Rachel Slade.
“It can now instantly recognise special characters and spaces that have been substituted in banned words and phrases. Equally, it can recognise if a word should be allowed because it matches the account holder’s legal name or the business’ name.”
NAB’s goal is to shield its customers from verbal violence, whether it be teenagers using transactions to bully others or intimate partners committing financial abuse.
“We’re committed to working with our customers and other organisations to reduce the prevalence of this behaviour. We also encourage customers to contact us if they receive abusive or threatening messages. We are here to help,” Ms Slade said.
Commenting on NAB’s commitment, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said that the bank’s initiative will really move the needle in tackling online abuse.
“[It] will prevent many of the online harms we deal with every day from happening in the first place,” Ms Grant said.
“We commend NAB for taking active steps towards adopting this Safety by Design approach and protecting their customers from online abuse being perpetrated through their banking app and internet banking service.”
NAB also recently introduced an acceptable electronic banking use policy to call out unlawful uses of NAB’s electronic banking channels.
“This includes making threatening and abusive comments to any person,” Ms Slade said.
The big four bank has been actively blocking abusive transactions on internet banking since November 2020.
About the author
About the author
Banking
Global banknote study reveals gender disparity: Only 7.54% depict women
A recent study by TradersBest has uncovered a significant gender disparity on the world's banknotes, with findings indicating that out of 716 individuals featured across 115 countries, only 54 are ...Read more
Banking
JPMorgan Chase leads the global banking sector in AI adoption, outpacing rivals
A recent study indicated that JPMorgan Chase has positioned itself as the leading force among financial institutions embracing artificial intelligence (AI) for enhancing customer satisfaction and ...Read more
Banking
Exact Payments acknowledged as a leading payments ISV by the Electronic Transactions Association
The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), a prominent advocacy and trade association for the payments industry, has recognized Exact Payments as one of the Top 10 Payments Independent Software ...Read more
Banking
The future of digital banking in Australia: Trends and implications for investors
As technology continues to reshape our lives, its influence on the financial sector is particularly transformative. One sector at the epicentre of this change is banking. Read more
Banking
ANZ sued for allegedly misleading customers
The corporate regulator has commenced civil proceedings in Federal Court. Read more
Banking
Banks report $14.4bn profit amid pressure on net interest margins
Australia’s major banks have reported a significant boost to their bottom lines and returns in the first half of the 2022 financial year, signaling sector-wide resilience despite persistent pressure ...Read more
Banking
Major banks report rising profits
NAB and ANZ announced their half-year results this week. Read more
Banking
Modernisation of direct debit system suffers setback
According to the Reserve Bank (RBA), several major banks will not be able to meet the current timeline for the launch of the PayTo service. Read more
Banking
Global banknote study reveals gender disparity: Only 7.54% depict women
A recent study by TradersBest has uncovered a significant gender disparity on the world's banknotes, with findings indicating that out of 716 individuals featured across 115 countries, only 54 are ...Read more
Banking
JPMorgan Chase leads the global banking sector in AI adoption, outpacing rivals
A recent study indicated that JPMorgan Chase has positioned itself as the leading force among financial institutions embracing artificial intelligence (AI) for enhancing customer satisfaction and ...Read more
Banking
Exact Payments acknowledged as a leading payments ISV by the Electronic Transactions Association
The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), a prominent advocacy and trade association for the payments industry, has recognized Exact Payments as one of the Top 10 Payments Independent Software ...Read more
Banking
The future of digital banking in Australia: Trends and implications for investors
As technology continues to reshape our lives, its influence on the financial sector is particularly transformative. One sector at the epicentre of this change is banking. Read more
Banking
ANZ sued for allegedly misleading customers
The corporate regulator has commenced civil proceedings in Federal Court. Read more
Banking
Banks report $14.4bn profit amid pressure on net interest margins
Australia’s major banks have reported a significant boost to their bottom lines and returns in the first half of the 2022 financial year, signaling sector-wide resilience despite persistent pressure ...Read more
Banking
Major banks report rising profits
NAB and ANZ announced their half-year results this week. Read more
Banking
Modernisation of direct debit system suffers setback
According to the Reserve Bank (RBA), several major banks will not be able to meet the current timeline for the launch of the PayTo service. Read more