New rules can make banking, credit-card use less convenient



Want to avert a marital dispute?

Don't ask your spouse to obtain your bank account balance when depositing money to your account. He or she might not succeed in getting it.


Policies at banks vary, but in the face of a heavy privacy push and concern over identity theft and terrorism, banks increasingly are restricting access to private information. Your spouse likely can get you a receipt for a deposit to your account, but you may have to call for your own balance.
Also, understand whether you're a joint account holder with your spouse on a credit card or an "authorized user."

The difference could determine whether you may obtain information on the card account and/or correct an account error. If you're not a joint account holder, be prepared to endure the humiliation of having to put your spouse on the line to solve an account problem.
On the other hand, authorized credit-card users, unlike joint account holders, typically are not responsible for charges to the account.

"Generally, unless you are listed as a joint account holder, the bank will not give you information on someone else's account, no matter what the relation," said John Hall, American Bankers Association spokesman. "Unfortunately, all too often spouses in divorce disputes try to get information on each other or ruin each other's credit."

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It's also getting tougher to open a bank account these days.

"Under the Patriot Act, all financial institutions are required to have customer identification procedures," said Tena Friery, research director for the Privacy Rights Clearing House in San Diego. "It can be a driver's license, Social Security number, passport or state-issued I.D. that most states issue if a person doesn't have a driver's license."

While banks don't have to keep copies of this information, they are required to document how they've complied with the federal standard.

"Banks have their own policies about cashing third-party checks," she added. "I've heard from people who have said they've gone into a bank, but don't have an account. They've been asked to provide a fingerprint to cash a check."

Looking to deposit a check into your account and take back cash? Don't be surprised if your bank asks for identification - even though most of the money is being deposited. Whether I.D. is required, Friery said, also may depend upon the amount of cash back you're seeking.

And even though you might think providing your bank a post office box rather than a physical address is a great way to prevent identity theft, don't expect your bank to accept it. A joint regulation by federal banking agencies and the Securities and Exchange Commission requires that you provide a physical address, she said.


Making the most of your offers
Fritz Elmendorf, spokesman for the Consumer Bankers Association, Arlington, Va., says that with more mergers, expect more bureaucracy with your transactions.

State affiliate sharing regulations are starting to require that you at least sign off on allowing your mortgage company, for example, check your personal financial information on an affiliate bank account.


Elmendorf adds that contrary to what you might think, those annual privacy notices you're getting generally don't mean the terms of your account are changing. The notices are required by law to explain how your bank uses your personal information. These notices typically offer you an opportunity to opt out of information sharing. But opt out, and you're probably only limiting personal information that can be provided to nonaffiliates.

"You have the right to opt out of prescreened mailings," Elmendorf says. To do this, call 1-888-567-8688 or visit www.optoutprescreen.com. But be sure to consider this "Catch 22."

Nowadays, banks often use personal financial information to fine-tune terms of credit cards and loans to specific customers. If you're shopping for a credit card and initiate the call to the institution, the quoted terms are apt to be worse than those you might have received in a mailing. Opt out and you could miss out.

A freeze on your credit file, now permitted by many states and currently under consideration in Congress, Elmendorf says, could prove a great solution to identity theft. The flip side: Beware that you'll no longer be able to drive home the same day with that car you may want.


Source: MarketWatch