Conference 7.286::dcu

I like the idea of electronic banking, however, it seems that some Federal
banking regulations/laws may need to change first.  For example there is some
regulation that limits electronic transfers to/from certain kinds of accounts
to 3 per month.  As is the usual with many govt. regulations, the rule seems
to be inconsistent.  For example, if you call over the phone and use EASY-TOUCH
to transfer funds, the transfer counts as one of the 3.  However, if you use
ANY ATM, or walk into a branch office to do it, it doesn't count as one of the
3.

It is this kind of thing that I see as being major stumbling blocks to true
electronic banking.  I'm sure there are others.

Bob

    I guess my biggest concern is the "CYA" rules that cover all
    auto-payment plans that I've yet seen.  For example, I can
    arrange to have my mortgage paid automatically -- but only if
    I sign a statement saying that the bank that holds the mortgage
    has NO liability of any kind for ANY transfers they make from
    my account.  Well, if they take too much, they have to give it
    back... eventually.  But if due to a mistake they took out two
    payments, for example, and my checks bounced, that would be my
    tough luck.  And there's no stated time limit as to when they'd
    have to give back my money.  Maybe they wouldn't have to give it
    back, so long as they credited it to my mortgage.  I'm sure that
    they normally wouldn't behave that way -- it would be bad business.
    However, I don't like giving anyone these rights.
    
    Contrast this to the protections from loss available on credit cards.
    If I lose my card, I'm only liable up to $50.  If a false charge was
    not my fault, I'm not liable at all.  The card issuer has to respond
    immediately to any complaint, and fully resolve it within a reasonable
    time.  On the other hand, credit cards are notoriously non-private.
    It's trivial for someone to get my number and use it for fraudulent
    charges.  Also, there are no laws preventing the card issuer from
    revealing my purchases -- and at least some of them do exactly that.
    
    What sort of rules and laws apply to electronic banking?  What are
    the liabilities going to be?  We need privacy and security, both in
    terms of outsiders' access to the data, and what the electronic
    banking providers do with the data.  Would the DCU have full control
    over what is done with electronic banking data, e.g. if there is a
    non-DCU provider involved?  
    
    I hope the electronic banking industry goes in directions that
    allow for privacy and protection for the users.  Given the power
    of the direct marketing industry -- and given the power of the IRS --
    I'm afraid that we won't get real privacy.  But one can hope.  If
    we can get such protections from OUR credit union but not from
    banks, well, that's another reason to be part of a cooperative!
    
    	Enjoy,
    	Larry
    

	Well, to get a little more technical than political.....


	I'd like to have a secure Web interface into my accounts. 
	Basically, most everything I can do at an ATM or via
	EasyTouch, via the web, using secure transactions, like
	what is available via Netscape.

	And I don't want outrageous fees for it either. It should
	save the DCU money in the long run.

	I want Quicken statements emailed to me or on demand from
	a web interface, or via a dial-up like my Quicken Visa. I
	could do away with a monthly mailing of my account statement
	on paper if I could get QIF files instead. If I want them on
	paper then, I can print them myself.

							mike

  On CNBC today they said that CITIBANK has just eliminated ATM and computer
banking fees.  Maybe the DCU will get the hint since a major bank has started
doing this.

    The reason given for eliminating those fees was that CITIBANK wants
    to encourage people to use the machines instead of human tellers,
    because humans cost more.

The Wall St Journal has more details on the fees. It seems that
Citibank charged $.35 per ATM transaction unless  you
had a minimum balance. They were just eliminating that fee.

ATM charges for non-Citibank ATM's remains.

Gim

Yesterday's Journal carried an article on electronic checks. Apparently 
Citibank customers can now pay their bills electronically (via PC)
for free. This article mentions that Boeing's credit union has also 
introduced this feature.

In general, it seems like American banks are a bit behind on this sort
of thing. During a recent one-year stint in Singapore, I wrote maybe
two personal (paper) checks during my entire stay. I made literally
hundreds of electronic transactions, and never got charged a fee.

- Ganesh.

	I have a friend who works for Boeing and uses their CU.  The Boeing CU
has one (count 'em - one) office.   As a consequence, she gets unlimited free
ATM transactions at any affiliated ATM.

	The Boeing CU is obviously structured much differently than DCU.  Not
that I don't think DCU shouldn't be  looking at better ways to serve the 
membership.

					--Doug

    
    the statement included with this month's statement talked about
    electronic banking coming in 1996.
    
    also, *finally* CD mins were dropped to $500 with pretty good rates.
    
    ed