Financial Services Minster Stephen Jones said the government may consider introducing a law requiring financial institutions to compensate scam victims, along the lines of rules being implemented in the UK. A bill in the UK parliament gives the country’s Payment System Regulator power to set up a scheme to reimburse victims of push payment fraud. Banks and other financial institutions will fund the scheme. In an interview with the ABC yesterday, Jones said: “We’re definitely going to lift the bar and we’re going to ensure the banks are accountable for much more. “When you look at what the UK does, we’ll probably look at something which travels in the same direction.” In April, ASIC criticised the major banks for their scam detection and prevention, and called on all financial institutions to improve their approach to handling scams. It said the banks detected and stopped a low proportion of scam payments made by their customers, in the order of 13 per cent. Reimbursement or compensation was paid in only around 11 per cent of the cases where there was a scam loss. It said scam losses for major bank customers last year exceeded A$550 million and affected 31,700 customers. ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said: “Australia’s big four banks have invested significantly in their anti-scam efforts over the past few years and have implemented a number of innovative and positive initiatives. “However, the increasing prominence of scam means that there is still more to be done.”