As a prudent smart phone user, it’s natural to wonder if your smart phone bank transactions are secure. Rest assured, mobile banking is safe and secure because banks are in the business of securing sensitive customer data.
Direct Connect
Your individual smart phone is coded to link directly to your bank accounts to conduct banking business when you’re on the go. This means that other smart phone users – even those with your PIN – can’t access company accounts without an authorized, coded smart phone linked directly to your online accounts.
This prevents unauthorized access to accounts using another smart phone. Only those smart phones you approve can access accounts.
Password Protection
It’s always a good idea to use the “lock” feature on your smart phone – an electronic lock that can only be opened using your PIN. This protects all data stored on your smart phone in case it gets lost.
Banks also add another layer of security by requiring a password to access your online accounts using a mobile phone. Without the password, unauthorized access is all but impossible.
Data Encryption
To protect your company’s highly-sensitive financial data, banks employ heavy encryption – special coding – that eliminates the likelihood of transmissions being intercepted.
You can contact your bank to conduct online activity assured that your transactions and account information are encrypted to protect what’s yours – the company’s online “books”.
Banks also send alerts and other information regarding account activity to your smart phone. These messages are also heavily encrypted to protect bank account numbers, PINs and other sensitive data.
Banks Respect Your Privacy
If you’re a busy business owner, you store a lot of information on your smart phone. Your contacts list, snap shots from the latest job site, emails from the field. Today’s smart phones offer a lot of different features used by businesses every day.
Your bank’s security system respects your privacy. It doesn’t access other information stored on your smart phone. Your bank simply uses smart phone features – like the camera to take pictures of checks for remote site deposit – and keeps clear of the other information stored on your smart phone.
Getting Started With Mobile Banking Is Easy
Banks take security very seriously and provide redundant layers of security to keep your data safe.
To equip your smart phone with company account access, you’ll be required to enroll in your bank’s online banking program. You’ll also be required to register all smart phones authorized to access online accounts.
To further secure company information, you can create different permissions for each smart phone user. If an employee requires “view only” account access, you set the parameters.
Common Sense Security Tips From Your Bank
Your bank may also offer some common sense tips to keep mobile banking even more secure. Here are some simple steps you can take to keep smart phone banking even smarter:
- Never loan your account-authorized smart phone, even to a trusted employee or family member. Keep your smart phone in a safe place for greater security.
- Use letters, numbers and punctuation symbols in your smart phone and account passwords, and, of course, never give your password to anyone.
- Don’t keep your password with your smart phone. You might be tempted to store passwords in your day planner – the same day planner in your briefcase along with your smart phone. Banks recommend storing PINs in a secure place.
- Never leave your smart phone unattended. Take your smart phone with you, or lock it in a secure drawer.
- Train your team in smart phone use to improve data security even more. A smart team, trained in smart phone use, adds an additional layer of security to company data.
Mobile banking has become an invaluable tool used by more and more businesses with remote site offices, service technicians on the road, and outside sales people. Businesses run more efficiently with mobile banking services.