Singapore banks defend PayNow name masking after 'SEX' glitches

The Association of Banks in Singapore defended its use of the letter X to mask PayNow users' names after the change produced unintended words, including "SEX," in some display names. The trade group said not all PayNow-related systems across its 29 participating institutions support special characters such as asterisks, so a letter was used instead. ABS said it removed the nickname feature on Jun. 6 because scammers had been abusing nicknames to pose as trusted people or established entities and trick victims into sending money. The feature had been available since PayNow launched in 2017. ABS said it will review customer feedback on the masking approach.