AMRO suggests Brunei consider loss-sharing for scam victims as institutions rank cyber fraud a top risk

Implications for lenders

Lenders in Brunei that onboard or disburse through digital channels may need stronger authentication and transaction monitoring if AMRO's loss-sharing suggestion is taken up, since such regimes can make institutions bear part of scam losses when controls fall short. With bank account ownership at 65.7%, first-time digital borrowers may also need clearer scam warnings at disbursement and repayment.

Implications

Facts

The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) published its 2026 Annual Consultation Report on Brunei Darussalam in October 2026. In its section on financial-sector risks, the report says financial institutions identify AI-enabled fraud and ransomware as their largest potential risks. AMRO says loss-sharing arrangements for cyber-related fraud and scams, as used in several ASEAN+3 economies, can reinforce consumer protection, and it says priority measures could include regular cybersecurity stress testing for systemically important institutions.

On digital finance, AMRO describes Brunei's fintech ecosystem as at an early stage of development but evolving rapidly, and says further efforts are required to improve interoperability. It cites internet penetration of 95% ¹ against bank account ownership of 65.7% of the population, with lower use of online banking. ²

In October 2026 Brunei Darussalam Central Bank (BDCB) published a consumer education article series on investment scams, including pieces on spotting an investment scam (9 October), convincing investment videos (16 October) and building investor resilience (23 October).

Analysis

Singapore offers the closest regional reference point for what AMRO proposes. Its Shared Responsibility Framework, in force since 16 December 2024, sets duties for financial institutions and telecommunication companies to counter phishing scams and an order in which they bear losses when those duties are breached. AMRO presents loss-sharing as a measure used elsewhere in ASEAN+3 rather than one in place in Brunei; the report says BDCB's current policy priority is financial literacy, and BDCB's October article series is consumer education.

The gap between internet use (95%) and bank account ownership (65.7%) matters for how such a framework would be designed. Many new users of digital financial services may arrive through payment apps and online channels without a long banking history, which is where social-engineering scams can concentrate. Any loss-sharing rule would therefore shape onboarding, authentication and transaction-monitoring standards for lenders and payment providers, not only for banks.

Counterpoints and uncertainties

AMRO's report is advisory: BDCB has not announced a loss-sharing framework or a timetable, and the report gives no data on scam losses in Brunei. The internet and bank-account figures carry no survey year, so the size of the gap may differ from current levels. A framework modelled on Singapore's may not fit Brunei's smaller market and different mix of institutions.