Effective 15 October 2025, major retail banks in Singapore will implement enhanced safeguards for all digital transactions. These measures may affect the timing of fund transfers into your iFAST investment account.

What is this about?

With effect from 15^th October 2025, major retails banks in Singapore will implement enhanced fraud surveillance on all digital transactions to curb financial scams and protect customers’ assets. Under these safeguards, the banks may hold or reject digital banking transfers when certain criteria are met.

This applies only to bank accounts with balances more than S$50,000. The summary is provided below:

·       If digital banking transaction(s) causes more than 50% of the account balance to be transferred out within the past 24 hours, banks may reject or hold such transactions for up to 24 hours.

·       The purpose is to introduce a buffer period, allowing potentially fraudulent transactions can be intercepted and reversed before the full amount is drained.

·       Legitimate transactions will be released after the 24-hour period, and customers will be notified via their banking app or internet banking portal.

·       In exceptional cases where customers urgently need transactions to be processed during the cooling period, they will have to verify their transactions with the bank.

How will this affect me?

As an investor, kindly note that these measures may potentially disrupt your time-sensitive fund transfers that are intended to be deployed into investment products. This is especially pertinent for products that require timely execution, such as stocks, bonds, and ETFs.

Are there any payments exempted from this?

Yes. Recurring standing instructions, eDDA/eGIRO instructions, and GIRO payments will not be affected.

If you have existing RSPs via GIRO or eGIRO, they should still be processed as per normal.

What can I do to mitigate this?

Method 1: Top up to Cash Solutions via eDDA/eGIRO

To top-up directly to your iFAST Cash Solutions via eGIRO/GIRO, head to iFAST Client Login > Cash Solutions > Top-Up:

If you do not have an existing linked GIRO account, please approach your advicer for the eGIRO guide to setup the linkage. 

Method 2: Pre-fund your Cash Account and/or Auto-Sweep

Instead of initiating fund transfer immediately prior to an investment, you may transfer funds into your Cash Account in advance. In this way, you can avoid the risk of a last-minute transfer being delayed or blocked.

On the same note, you can also transfer your excess monies into our Auto-Sweep Account. The indicative current yield* for our respective Auto-Sweep accounts are:

·       SGD = 1.502% p.a.

·       USD = 3.483% p.a.

·       CNH = 1.066% p.a.

*Updated as of 14 Oct 2025 based on the weighted average of the latest yield of underlying portfolio constituents after deducting latest fund-related expenses and iFAST Auto-Sweep fee. Latest net yield is neither a guaranteed rate nor an accurate indication of future returns. Net yield is updated on a weekly basis and is subject to fluctuation. Actual returns on iFAST Auto-Sweep Account will be based on the underlying portfolio constituents performance.

There is no lag time when you use Auto-Sweep balances to purchase other investment products. This makes it a superior place to park your excess cash while waiting for investment opportunities.

Method 3: Split large transfers across multiple days

Instead of sending a lump sum, break it into smaller amounts spaced over several days so that each transfer is less likely to trigger the 50% threshold. However, this method is ineffective for transactions into time-sensitive investments and is only applicable if such transfers are sufficiently planned in advance.

If you have any questions or require more assistance, please feel free to contact our Customer Service at +65 6557 2000 (Monday to Friday 8:30am to 10:30pm, excluding public holidays) or email us at ifastadmin@ifastfinancial.com