Santander leads ban on offensive language after reports that abusers are using banking apps to send death threats

Reports have revealed that domestic abusers have been using the banking reference box to send threatening messages, leading to banks banning the use of profanity on their applications.

The Telegraph has reported that Santander and a slew of other banks have now taken the decision to ban all swear words and abusive language when sending payments after discovering that abusers have been transferring funds, some as little as a penny, in order to send menacing messages.  One transfer read: “I am going to find you and kill you”, using nine transfers.

Abusers have used banking apps and online services to bypass restraining orders. The high street lender, which is a member of the retail payments authority Pay UK, noticed an increase in menacing communications using the reference box, which is usually used to detail money sent for the recipient.

A Santander spokesperson said: “Sadly, we’ve seen an increase in the number of customers receiving abusive messages and threats via faster payment messages. This can include customers in abusive relationships or those that have put restraining orders in place to protect themselves, and go on to receive death threats and targeted abuse in payments being made to them. We hope that this new guidance will help our most vulnerable customers and protect them from any further suffering.”

The issue isn’t limited to the UK, with Australian lender Commonwealth Bank reporting they had deflected 40,000 ‘insidious’ transactions after they were flagged for offensive language.

Santander has noted that the issue is ‘industry wide’ and under the new rules they and other banks have blocked  a selection of offensive keywords – but those currently banned are not known to stop senders – including abusers – from bypassing the safety measures.