Most Read
- SEC Short Sale Rule Could Create a Bubble in Financial Stocks
- Cisco Global Exchange Study Ranks Latency Among Top Success Factors in Competitive Race
- Analytics Help Firms Turn Data Into Opportunity
- Wall Street Outsourcing to New, Exotic Corners of the Globe
- DTCC, Markit to Create Single Point of Derivatives Confirmation
- NYC Financial Firms to Get New Disaster Recovery Data Center in Pennsylvania
- TradeStation Unveils Flat-Fee Commissions for Active Traders
- Trading Desks Turn to Video Game Technology to Speed Analytics
September 20, 2007
BofA SafePass: One Name, Two Implementations
Bank of America recently launched a couple of security initiatives for both its banking and brokerage clients. To us, one of them seems pretty innovative, the other a potential nuisance.
On the brokerage side, SafePass will be used to secure online OTC Bulletin Board and Pick Sheet stock trades. The service includes an electronic card that displays a 6-digit, one-time use code. After clients place OTC Bulletin Board and Pink Sheet trades online, they will see the SafePass icon on the Preview Order page. Clients are then required to press the button on the card to display the security code and use that number to place the order. Unlike E*TRADE's Digital Security ID, which is optional, the SafePass is required for these types of trades. We're not sure if this is a small rollout to test the product and if BofA is planning to require this for all trades, but it does strike us as a bit extreme to require clients to use it. Complicating the matter, this is not the same SafePass card that customers of the retail bank can choose to use. So, even though the name is the same, if you are a bank customer and place OTC trades, you now have two cards to carry around.
Interestingly, however, on the retail bank side of the coin, BofA has launched a new feature for SafePass that actually allows customers to use the SafePass on a device they likely already carry around - their cell phone (they are evidently developing a card as well, but it is not yet available). Once customers have set up the SafePass system, they will be asked to request a six-digit SafePass code, which will be sent to a previously registered mobile device, each time they (or anyone else) attempts to execute one of the protected functions (e.g. transfer accounts, bill pay, P2P transfers, etc. - users can choose the functions they want to require SaffPass authentication, a nice feature). This is an excellent compromise between security and convenience - and as an added bonus, customers that sign up for this service are given higher transfer limits. If it is something that the industry at large adopts, it would mitigate the need for customer to carry a multitude of security key fobs. Now, for example, a customer who banks at BofA and trades at E*TRADE would be able to simply use their cell phone for the authentication tool.
Posted by Michael Ellison at 10:32 AM
This is a public forum. CMP Media and its affiliates are not responsible for and do not control what is posted herein. CMP Media makes no warranties or guarantees concerning any advice dispensed by its staff members or readers.
Community standards in this comment area do not permit hate language, excessive profanity, or other patently offensive language. Please be aware that all information posted to this comment area becomes the property of CMP Media LLC and may be edited and republished in print or electronic format as outlined in CMP Media's Terms of Service.
Important Note: This comment area is NOT intended for commercial messages or solicitations of business.
Greg MacSweeny Columns
Greg MacSweeneyIn a Matter of Months, CIOs’ Agendas Turned Upside Down
Early in the summer of 2007, Wall Street was counting its good fortune. In early summer 20...
Former CIO Gavazzi Launches Risk Alert Provider
Where Are They Now? Life After Wall Street
Where Are They Now? Mitchel Lenson, Former Deutsche Bank Group CIO
Larry Tabb Columns
Larry TabbClearing and Settlement Top-of-Mind for Front-Office Execs
In addition to the excitement in the U.S., the real focus is occurring in Europe, where th...
Risk Management IT Comes to the Forefront in the Wake of Subprime Credit Crisis
In a Tumultuous Economy, Wall Street Must -- and Will -- Find a New Model
CHECK THIS OUTNovell Real Time Linux Webcast SeriesIn order to succeed, companies must be able to respond quickly, deliver superior value and quality of service, and carefully manage their costs. In this series of brief webcasts, you will learn how SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time from Novell enables organizations to respond quicker by delivering low latencies, deliver increased value with fast response times, and better manage costs. |
EventsLive Events:Accelerating Wall Street 2 October 02, 2008  Buy-Side Trading Summit 2008 November 16-18, 2008 |
White PapersLevel 3 Connectivity KitStay ahead of the bandwidth curve. The Level 3 Connectivity Kit provides full resources to help you make informed decisions regarding your network infrastructure. Download the Data Center Networking Strategies for Financial Services Firms White Paper; Business Class Ethernet: Trends in Perspective eBook and BC/DR Best Practices for the Data-Intensive Enterprise Gartner Webcast Surviving and Thriving in a Challenging Market Learn how financial services firms can use customer-centric strategies and tools to maximize client value and loyalty, gain insight into new opportunities, and do more with less, counteracting market volatility. |
Marketplace |
Career CenterReady to take that job and shove it?
|
Most Recent Job Posts:
* Lowe's seeking Manager of IT Research in Mooresville, NC
* Hebrew Senior Life seeking Senior Informatics Analyst in Roslindale, MA * UCLA seeking Programmer/Analyst IV in Los Angeles, CA * T-Mobile seeking Program Manager 3 in Snoqualmie, WA * Comcast seeking Tier 4 CRAN Network Engineer in Chelmsford, MA For more tech jobs in the industry, visit Wall Street & Technology's Career Portal. |
