Bank of Maldives has introduced a self-service ‘Kill Switch’ to disable access to Internet Banking and cards in emergencies as part of the ongoing efforts to enhance security and protect its customers from scams.
The Bank said today that the ‘Kill Switch’ is a single action that allows customers to immediately log out of all active Internet and Mobile Banking sessions as well as freeze their cards in case of scams, preventing any further transactions from taking place.
BML said that feature, available on the Internet Banking login page, is a self-service function that can be activated by customers without contacting the Bank.
The Bank's CEO and Managing Director Karl Stumke stated that this feature has been launched as part of a series of steps taken by the Bank to strengthen measures against scams.
BML said that once the Kill Switch is enabled, customers will only be able to reactivate their Internet Banking and cards following a stringent verification process through the Contact Centre or by visiting the nearest branch.
The Bank has taken several steps to protect customers from scams over the past months which include;
- In May, the Bank introduced Two Factor Authentication (2FA) for Internet and Mobile Banking logins. With the new update, an extra layer of security has been added to verify that the login is by the registered customer.
- In March, One Time Passwords (OTP) were enabled for all Scan-to-Pay payments in addition to alerts for all login attempts on the Internet and Mobile Banking.
- Last year, the Bank also introduced OTPs via authenticator apps, disabling email as a default OTP channel and began sending push notifications for all Internet and Mobile Banking transactions.
As the most popular bank in the Maldives, BML currently serves over 325,000 customers with a nationwide network of 38 branches across all 20 atolls, 87 Self Service Banking Centres, 143 ATMs, over 200 agents, and a full suite of Digital Banking services.
