Anti-scam service unveiled in Hong Kong
More steps and initiatives like the one cited below in which they are commencing in Hong Kong show how banks can do more to prevent clients from being scammed out of their savings. This is not to say banks and financial institutions in general have not already been establishing their own controls (i.e., threshold limits on how much you can transfer at one time and higher authentication review based on high wire transfer requests). Nevertheless, this one is welcome and will make a difference to clients, especially those more vulnerable to scams based on their own circumstances and situation.
All Hong Kong retail banks to offer anti-scam service, locking cash in accounts
‘Money Safe’ users will have to meet a bank employee to undergo verification process to ensure their funds are not going to scammers
Jess Ma | Published: 10:09pm, 30 Dec 2025Updated: 11:07pm, 30 Dec 2025
All of Hong Kong’s 28 retail banks, including virtual ones, will offer an anti-scam service from Wednesday that requires extra verification before money can be withdrawn, with 3,200 people depositing HK$1.6 billion (US$206 million) during a trial.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority deputy chief executive Arthur Yuen Kwok-hang said on Tuesday that around 20 per cent of the 3,200 customers who had used the “Money Safe” service during its pilot phase earlier this year were aged 60 or above, while 7 per cent were below 25.
“We do think Money Safe is good for everyone, if [users] are evenly spread out amongst different age groups, then it will be good,” Yuen said.
Under the service, individual bank account holders can designate a certain amount of their cash that cannot be transferred in any way.
To make a withdrawal, the account holder must meet a bank employee personally to undergo a verification process to ensure that the money is not being taken out in a scam.
Account holders with the eight virtual banks providing the service must also meet staff at physical offices before they can withdraw their protected sums.
Fourteen banks had launched the service as of June this year.
Alan Au (left), Arthur Yuen and Rose Kay reveal details about the scheme on Tuesday. Photo: Elson Li
Alan Au Yuk-lun, executive director for banking conduct at the authority, said that preliminary data up to December 15 recorded more than 3,200 Money Safe users, with around 400 requests for the release of funds.
Among them, one case involved a client who was suspected of having requested a withdrawal under the influence of scammers.
Total deposits, as of December 15, reached HK$1.6 billion, with each user depositing HK$500,000 on average.
Each bank operates Money Safe independently, including arrangements on whether sums can be set aside in existing accounts or be deposited into separate ones.
The service covers currencies other than the Hong Kong dollar, with deposit amounts not subject to any ceilings.
Au said the authority had advised banks to set a minimum amount for a deposit that was no higher than HK$10,000, adding that 21 banks have such limits for Hong Kong dollar deposits.
For non-Hong Kong dollar deposits, 15 banks have minimum amount requirements.
Rose Kay Lo-hei, acting chairwoman of the Hong Kong Association of Banks, urged account holders to ensure they had sufficient liquid funds before committing some of their funds to the service.
“Unlocking the sums takes time, from one day to three days. We will remind clients to plan ahead instead of dashing to the bank when in urgent need of funds,” Kay said.
She said that during the pilot period, bank staff had handled cases that helped clients prevent scam-induced losses.
One case concerned a 78-year-old retiree who had called his bank to report the loss of his Hong Kong identity card and requested that a sum in his account be locked under Money Safe to prevent any theft.
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Another involved a 54-year-old client who was about to leave Hong Kong for two years for work. Kay said the customer had locked 70 per cent of his savings as a security measure.
Kay said banks would also target vulnerable groups such as the elderly and university students, but emphasised that the scheme was for all residents.
“We also have history or track records of customers who are more vulnerable to scams; these are the clients we will single out and target as well,” Kay said.
Hong Kong police recorded 35,831 cases of fraud and scams in the first 10 months of the year, with losses totalling HK$6.43 billion. The number of cases and losses dropped 1.6 per cent and 8.7 per cent, respectively, from the same period last year.
The authority received 542 fraud-related banking complaints between January and November this year, a decrease of 28 per cent from the same period in 2024.
Despite the declining figures, Yuen warned that scams still posed a threat to all residents, regardless of their age and background.
“We’ve seen many cases where victims said they were aware of the need to protect themselves, but at that moment, out of a sense of urgency, they had forgotten to do so,” Yuen warned.
