Australian bank Westpac has partnered with telecoms company Optus to help tackle impersonation scams.

The new service allows customers to receive calls via the bank’s app that are Westpac-branded, verified by Optus , and show a reason behind the call.

The branded calling is facilitated by Vonage, which is a part of Ericsson and a specialist in cloud communications.

Customers can also call the bank via the app.

The bank said that ‘Westpac SafeCall’ will give customers reassurance about the legitimacy of calls at a time when impersonation scams are one of the most common forms of fraud.

Westpac added that the move will improve customer experience as well as making Australia a harder place for scammers to operate in.

Westpac claims that over the past two years, it has saved customers from losing over $400 million to scammers having invested more than $100 million in new detection and prevention measures.

These include services such as Westpac Verify, which alerts customers when there is a potential account name mismatch when they’re adding a new payee and Dynamic CVC, which changes the three-digit code on the back of the digital card every 24 hours.

Peter King, chief executive at Westpac, said that the bank is continuing to invest in scam prevention and currently detects around 69 per cent of all scam cases.

“Using this technology, when a customer receives a call from Westpac, their phone will display Westpac as the caller, along with a verification by Optus and a reason for the call,” he added. “This will help to provide customers with the confidence and added security to help beat scammers and know that they really are talking to their bank.”

SafeCall will be gradually rolled out to Westpac customers over the next few months.

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