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What Banks Tell Customers About Their Online Security

Six months after the FFIEC's rules for strong authentication took effect, we test what the country's three biggest banks tell their customers about online security. It's not very encouraging.

Nevertheless, Freed didnt seem surprised that the banks, for the most part, had so little to say about online security. "The education and communication of security is not done very well," he said. "For converting non-online banking customers, I think that's a critical step. But it's a balance between putting the fear in them and educating them."

Right now, I'd say, the banks are doing neither.

As for me, if I had a Bank of America account already, I think I'd give online banking a try. It's not so much that I'm convinced Bank of America actually has better security than Citibank or Chase. The call-center rep doesn't know that, and none of the banks are going to talk about all their security mechanisms anyway. But I'm heartened that they're teaching their call-center reps how to explain their security mechanisms to customers. At this point in history, it's a sad fact that merely being willing and able to talk about security in plain English (even if they don't want the call to be recorded) puts Bank of America well ahead of its competitors. That's just not enough to make me change banks, though. Guess I'll keep buying stamps after all.