Peru's Superintendence of Banking, Insurance and Private Pension Fund Administrators outlines two-factor authentication requirement and IMF-backed sector cybersecurity strategy

Peru's Superintendence of Banking, Insurance and Private Pension Fund Administrators (SBS) updated Congress's Consumer Defense Commission on its work to strengthen the security and integrity of financial transactions and protect confidential information, alongside ongoing financial education initiatives. The supervisor framed the update against a sharp rise in cybercrime, reporting that complaints of computer-related offences have quintupled over the past five years. SBS regulations set security guidelines for supervised firms, including a new rule requiring enhanced authentication using two factors, particularly for transactions that could harm users; examples included a four-digit PIN for in-person credit card purchases and one-time codes (SMS or token-style) for online payments. Firms are also encouraged to use tools such as automatic transaction notifications, customer controls to enable or disable additional card services, and mass communications on fraud prevention, while the SBS highlighted the need to build supervisory skills with greater technology and cyber expertise. On sector coordination, the SBS is developing a cybersecurity strategy with International Monetary Fund technical assistance and engagement with public and private stakeholders including the Central Reserve Bank of Peru and the Ministry of Economy and Finance; it also cited low consumer cyber hygiene, with 23% regularly changing passwords and 42% checking that financial products are offered by regulated entities, and said it is running awareness campaigns and developing tools to help users understand products and manage risks.