YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
by Paul Schreiber
SBJ Contributing Writer
Banks are expanding the ways consumers utilize their in-house services and access personal accounts through online banking. And electronic security measures make online banking a safe option, according to local computer consultants and financial institutions.
What is online banking? Online banking, either through the Internet or via a computer and telephone modem, is expediting the exchange of financial information between banks and their clients.
Many banks now provide electronic opportunities for their clients to enter and review personal accounts from any remote location.
This can be done by accessing the account through the Internet using a web browser like Netscape or Microsoft Explorer, said Charles Erker, corporate vice president and director of marketing for Commerce Bank.
Another approach is to skirt the Internet and access an account via telephone modem and a computer equipped with financial software such as Microsoft Money or Intuit's Quicken.
By dialing an 800 number, the client can connect to a private network, receive his or her downloaded financial data, and then review and adjust the figures through these programs, according to Eric Benson, Internet systems administrator for ComputerLand.
By either method, clients can chart account activity, establish payees to receive monthly payments, transfer money between accounts, review ATM usage, apply for loans, etc.
Ensuring online security. Online measures that ensure confidentiality make remote connections between individual clients or businesses and their banks feasible.
"The main concern is security, because you're dealing with people's information, such as their account numbers and balances, that you want only those people to get to," said Ron Stall, web master for Internet Communications Inc.
One way security is achieved is through the use of a protective barrier between the user's personal computer system and the mainframe system called a "firewall," according to Doug Marrs, vice president of operations for Great Southern Bank.
"A firewall is a server that ensures you're who you say you are before you get into our information," said Patrick Ruckh, senior vice president for UMB. "We have a firewall in place that ensures you can get to our web site, but you cannot get beyond our web site into any of the other banking information."
Security is further strengthened through encrypting the data passed between clients and banks. If intercepted in transmission, the data would look like "garbage if you were to view it," Benson said. "It cannot be decrypted unless you have a key that tells the computer on the receiving end how to decode that information."
One can tell if it's safe to transmit information by an icon, "a key or a lock in the bottom left-hand corner" of the screen, Benson said. "If that lock is unlocked or the key is broken, that is not a secure server."
He added, "When your browser is talking to the server, it can determine that it's secure and it will change the icon."
The costs of online banking services vary, but typically run about $10 a month or less, depending on the features included, local bankers said, adding that expenses may increase if the user exceeds a set number of online sessions or payee designations. Financial institutions' individual web sites provide information as to charges.
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