Data on Complaints and Chargeback Requests Across Banks, Card Issuers and Payment Institutions Involving Unauthorised Online Spending by Minors

Mr Victor Lye asked the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) whether MAS has data on the number of complaints or chargeback requests received by (i) banks (ii) card issuers or (iii) payment institutions, involving minors who incurred unauthorised or excessive spending through online platforms, including livestream gifting, in-app purchases or transfers to online content creators; and (b) if so, what is the data for each of the last five years.

Mr Gan Kim Yong (for the Prime Minister): The Monetary Authority of Singapore does not collect the requested data from financial institutions, and has received a few cases of feedback from the public on this issue in the past five years. Customers would typically approach their banks for such disputed transactions.

Bank accounts for minors under 16 years old can only be opened by their parents or guardians, who can set lower daily transaction limits for them. 1 Minors would generally be ineligible for credit cards as they would not meet minimum income or net asset requirements. 2

We encourage all parents to remain actively engaged in guiding their child's access to online content and managing the child's spending on online platforms.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 1:

1 Please refer to the reply given in this house on 12 November 2024 for more information: Written reply to Parliamentary Questions on digital banking and fraud liability protection for minors (https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/parliamentary-replies/2024/pq-on-digital-banking-and-fraud-liability-protection-for-minors).

2 Under MAS’ unsecured credit rules, card issuers like banks can only issue credit cards to individuals 55 years of age or younger if the individual meets at least one of the following requirements: (i) has an annual income of at least S$30,000, (ii) has net financial assets in excess of S$1 million, or (iii) has total net personal assets in excess of S$2 million.