28th Nov 2019 07:36
(Alliance News) - The new digital bank set up by Royal Bank of Scotland to compete with fintech rivals has become a target for fraudsters, The Times reported on Thursday.
According to the newspaper, about 30% of applications received by Bo since the app-based venture went live two weeks ago were fraudulent.
The figure underscores the scale of the challenge facing British banks in the digital age as they seek to counter money laundering and cybercrime, the Times commented.
RBS has been developing Bo since 2017 and hopes that the app will help it to withstand competition from fast-growing digital-only rivals.
Mark Bailie, chief executive of Bo, said that criminals wanted accounts for money laundering but that the bank had been blocking them. Given that Bo is new, RBS expected the venture to draw the attention of fraudsters, The Times said.
New banking services often are targets for fraud as criminals test out the strength and security of their systems and other controls.
RBS has not yet started an advertising campaign to promote Bo, but the app became available to the public on November 14. The app has approximately 3,500 users, of which about 2,000 are RBS staff who helped it to test the service during its development, the newspaper noted.
Bailie said that “in the last week probably 600 or 700 have come through the door†and that this was “accelerating every dayâ€.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/fraudsters-target-rbss-digital-bank-bo-jsb7bnhxs
RBS shares closed 0.2% higher in London at 231.20 pence each on Wednesday.
By Loreta Juodagalvyte; [email protected]
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