CompuBank To Protect Online Banking Customers With Travelers Insurance
Houston-based CompuBank, a "virtual" national bank, says it is the first U.S. financial institution to offer its customers insurance protection for unauthorized transactions from their accounts. The protection is provided by a program known as SafeWeb Remote Banking Insurance offered by Travelers Bond, a unit of Travelers Property Casualty. Under the SafeWeb program, coverage automatically applies to every customer's CompuBank account with no direct charge.
"The issue of online security is one we take very seriously," said Frank S. Goldberg, chairman and CEO of CompuBank. "As the first virtual national bank, joining forces with Travelers Property Casualty to provide our customers insurance protection is a prudent backstop to our solid security controls. By offering this policy, CompuBank differentiates itself from competitors who may not go the extra mile to protect and reassure customers."
"Today, there are approximately 41.5 million Internet/online users in the United States and only five percent are using online banking services," said Robert J. Nighan, manager of Travelers Bond Financial Services. "Security is a main reason this percentage is low. SafeWeb protection allows online financial institutions, like CompuBank, to address security issues and bolster consumer confidence in the safety of online banking."
In addition to receiving SafeWeb protection, each CompuBank customer is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Online transactions are only accepted through secure Internet sessions that support 128 Bit encryption. Customers are given their own personal user ID and password to access their account.
Federal banking regulations spell out the rights, liabilities and responsibilities of consumers who use electronic fund transfer services and of financial institutions that offer these services. Under these regulations, the extent of the customer's liability for an unauthorized transaction is determined by their promptness in reporting loss after it appears in a monthly statement.
SafeWeb provides protection for losses arising from circumstances where the Internet banking customer would normally be liable for an unauthorized transaction.
"We have taken every precaution to ensure that CompuBank's online banking system is safe and we are committed to guaranteeing the security of our customer's money and the privacy of their accounts," said Goldberg. CompuBank is the first bank to receive a national charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to serve its customers exclusively in an electronic mode.
CompuBank is approved by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and is a member of the Federal Reserve System.