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Tag: in-app

  • OCBC Enhances Customer Security with Innovative In-App Calling Feature to Combat Rising Fraud

    OCBC Enhances Customer Security with Innovative In-App Calling Feature to Combat Rising Fraud

    Singapore’s OCBC bank is set to introduce a secure in-app calling feature across its retail and business banking platforms. This move comes as a response to a significant increase in scams involving impersonation and a decreasing faith in traditional phone-based verification systems.

    Introducing In-App Calls

    OCBC’s new in-app calling feature will be incorporated into its digital banking apps. This feature offers customers a safer, more convenient way of contacting the bank’s customer service center, particularly for those travelling overseas. Users will be able to avoid international dialing charges thanks to this feature.

    The feature will be made progressively available to retail customers starting November 2025, following its initial rollout to corporate users via the OCBC Business app in June 2025. This development is highly relevant considering the bank handles over 8,000 calls from overseas customers each month.

    Moving Away from SMS OTPs

    As the entire industry begins to shift away from SMS One-Time Passwords (OTP), OCBC recognizes the increasing threats posed by scammers who exploit phishing techniques and social engineering attacks. The availability of personal data online has also compromised the effectiveness of traditional security questions.

    To provide a more secure communication channel, OCBC will route calls directly through its authenticated app environment. This environment is secured using biometrics or access credentials and a digital or hard token. Security questions will only be used for high-risk transactions.

    Expansion to Outbound In-App Calls

    OCBC plans to extend the in-app calling feature to outbound calls by the first half of 2026. This will allow contact center and anti-fraud teams to connect with both retail and business customers via the secure app environment.

    Impersonation scams have become a significant concern in Singapore, especially those involving government officials. The use of in-app calls can help users distinguish between legitimate outreach and fraudulent calls as they are significantly more challenging for scammers to mimic.

    Enhancing OCBC’s Digital Security Framework

    The introduction of the in-app calling feature is part of OCBC’s wider strategy to bolster trust and safety in digital banking. This strategy spans across retail, SME, and corporate segments.

    As scams become more sophisticated and tactics more inventive, banks in Singapore are speeding up their transition away from vulnerable verification methods. They are working towards strengthening secure, app-based ecosystems to ensure customer safety and trust.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the purpose of OCBC’s new in-app calling feature?
    The new in-app calling feature is designed to provide customers with a safer and more convenient way to contact the bank’s customer service center, particularly for those travelling overseas.

    When will the in-app calling feature be available to retail customers?
    The in-app calling feature will be made progressively available to retail customers starting from November 2025.

    How does the in-app calling feature enhance security?
    The in-app calling feature enhances security by routing calls directly through an authenticated app environment, secured using biometrics or access credentials and a digital or hard token. Security questions will only be used for high-risk transactions.

  • South Korea set to ban Google, Apple in-app payment dominance

    South Korea set to ban Google, Apple in-app payment dominance

    South Korea is likely to bar Google and Apple from requiring software developers to use their payment systems, effectively stopping them from charging commissions on in-app purchases, the first such curbs on the tech companies by a major economy.

    An amendment of the Telecommunications Business Act, dubbed the “Anti-Google law,” that takes aim at app store operators with dominant market positions, is being considered by lawmakers in South Korea, who have pushed the issue of the commission structure since mid-2020.

    In a statement, Apple said the bill “will put users who purchase digital goods from other sources at risk of fraud, undermine their privacy protections, make it difficult to manage their purchases.”

    The iPhone maker said it believes “user trust in App Store purchases will decrease as a result of this proposal — leading to fewer opportunities for the over 482,000 registered developers in Korea who have earned more than KRW8.55 trillion to date with Apple.”

    Adam Hodge, the spokesman for the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, said U.S. officials were still considering how to balance the views of the U.S. tech companies with the Biden administration’s push to increase competition in the industry.

    “We are engaging a range of stakeholders to gather facts as legislation is considered in Korea, recognizing the need to distinguish between discrimination against American companies and promoting competition,” Hodge said.

    Both Apple and Google have faced global criticism because they require software developers using their app stores to use proprietary in-app payment systems that charge commissions of up to 30% on in-app purchases.

    “For gaming apps, Google has been forcing app developers to use its own payment system … and it wants to expand its policy to other apps like music or webtoon,” said Kwon Se-hwa, a general manager at the Korea Internet Corporations Association, a nonprofit group representing Korean IT firms.

    “If the new bill becomes the law, developers will have options to use other independent payment systems,” Kwon said.

    Naomi Wilson, vice president of policy for Asia at the Information Technology Industry Council, a trade group that includes Apple and Google, said the legislation would violate South Korea’s multilateral and bilateral trade commitments.

    “If enacted, the bill would present challenges both for app developers and app stores seeking to do business in the Korean market,” she said, urging Korean legislators to re-examine the obligations for app markets and ensure they do not disproportionately affect U.S. companies.

    The European Union last year proposed the Digital Markets Act, taking aim at app store commissions. The rules are designed to affect large companies, but some European lawmakers are in favor of tightening them to specifically target American technology giants.

    Earlier this month in the United States, a bipartisan trio of senators introduced a bill that would rein in app stores of companies that they said exert too much market control, including Apple and Google.

    In South Korea, the home market of Android phone maker Samsung Electronics, Google Play Store earned revenue of nearly 6 trillion won ($5.15 billion) in 2019, according to a government report published last year.

    Earlier this year, Google said it would lower the service fee it charges developers on its app store from 30% to 15% on the first $1 million they earn in revenue in a year. Apple has made similar moves.

    For Apple too, commissions from in-app purchases are a key part of its $53.8 billion services business and are a major expense for some app developers.

    In May, an antitrust lawsuit filed by the maker of the popular game Fortnite against Apple revealed that the game maker paid $100 million in commissions to Apple over two years.

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