Do you know there are 2 types of online merchants?

Online shopping can be safe or unsafe depending on the type of merchants you are buying from.

 

1. Online merchants who require an OTP to verify your identity
To enjoy the convenience of online shopping, customers are required to enter an OTP or One-Time Password to make online payment to merchants.

 

• You will receive an OTP on your mobile phone or email registered with the bank before making payment.
• An OTP is valid for a specified time. If it’s not provided within the specified time or is entered incorrectly, the transaction will not be completed.
• This practice is common for online stores and when adding a debit card to a mobile application.

2. Online merchants who do not require an OTP to verify your identity

 

• You will not receive an OTP. To complete the transaction, you only need to fill in your card details.
• This practice is common with online stores who charge monthly service fees, making payment convenient for you. Such stores include, but are not limited to, YouTube and Netflix and other platforms such as Google and Facebook.
• Payments are fast and convenient but could potentially pose a higher risk.

To protect yourself, the most important things you need to do are checking your debit card transactions on your bank statement regularly and keeping the bank that issued your debit card updated with your primary mobile phone number so you can receive a notification anytime you spend with your card.