Banks are ordered to take immediate action to prevent disruption of online services
KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has taken immediate action to instruct banking institutions to determine the main cause of online service disruption incidents that have occurred recently.
According to Sinar Harian, Deputy Minister of Finance, Lim Hui Ying said, BNM takes seriously the interruption of banking services that has caused inconvenience to customers.
According to him, banking institutions are also asked to set appropriate corrective and preventive measures to prevent the same issue from recurring
“The bank has also been instructed to communicate with affected customers, including responding immediately to any complaints and inquiries caused by the disruption.
“BNM is also monitoring closely to ensure that the banking institutions involved restore banking services as normal as soon as possible,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat.
He said this when answering a question from Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) who asked for the government’s view on the issue of frequent online service disruptions by banking institutions.
Hui Ying added that banking institutions are also required to comply with the requirements set out in the policy document on Risk Management in Technology (RMiT) issued by BNM.
The policy document, he said, has set the requirements for technology risk management by financial institutions, including ensuring the delivery of financial services efficiently and safely to guarantee public confidence in the financial system.
“BNM has jurisdiction under the Financial Services Act 2013 and the Islamic Financial Services Act 2013 to impose supervisory and enforcement actions on financial institutions found to be non-compliant with any of the provisions of the relevant policy documents.
“It includes failure to ensure that critical systems that face unplanned downtime that affect service access to customers do not exceed the maximum acceptable downtime,” he said.
He explained that, depending on the assessment of the main cause and the impact of the disruption presented, BNM will take appropriate follow-up actions as provided under the relevant acts, including imposing supervisory actions and penalties on violations of legal provisions under BNM’s supervision.
The central bank will also continue to monitor and ensure full compliance with the standards set out in the policy document.