Internet banking changes for HSBC

FRIDAY, NOV. 23: HSBC Bermuda received a lot of phone calls this week from customers worried about phishing attempts as the Internet banking site had changed.

The bank was happy to inform them that they had upgraded its system to make it easier for them to use but more secure to help thwart account stealers.

But HSBC was more pleased to receive the flood of phone calls it signalled to them that people are now more aware of phishing attempts and are being vigilant to keep their accounts safe.

Last weekend HSBC Bermuda’s Internet banking went through the first of what will be several upgrades over the course of the next year.

The most noticeable change is the log on page is now easier to type in your password. The new system highlights which of the random characters you should enter.

Other changes include making adding a payee easier and searching transactions by type, date, cheque range or amount.

Blake Hellam, head of retail banking wealth management, told the Bermuda Sun, this was just the first phase of

“The last time we had a major systems upgrade was 2006 or 2005.”

He said this is the start of an ongoing upgrade “but we’ll be doing a series of upgrades out over the next six to 12 months. This lays the groundwork for more system capabilities and security capabilities.

“Unfortunately in Bermuda, like everywhere else, the element of phishing and fraud is here.”

Mr Hellam said the current change “allows for a more forward way of entering your password although the password itself doesn’t change. The ability to add payees is a little bit simpler now. The search functionality is way simpler and for the business Internet banking, the template element has enhanced functionality.”

He said the changes are one step to thwart phishing “but the reality is the people who are bad guy that are out there are sophisticated and they have been using multiple attempts and a variety of ways — whether it’s mule accounts, phishing account takeovers, basically what this does is move us in a direction to add more secure capabilities. This is just part of it and unfortunately it’s not the end of it.

Secure

“We’ll be adding even more secure capabilities next year like a one-time password, that will be a part of what we are rolling out next year as well.”

Mr Hellam said it is not a cure all to end phishing but it is a step to make it less likely to happen.

HSBC received many phone calls as it made the change over.

He said: “What we’re really pleased with is a lot of people have phoned in since the weekend, which means people are really paying attention nowadays to the way they do Internet banking.

“They would say ‘I noticed your website changed. I want to make sure this is really you guys. Am I okay to do this?’ Obviously, number one people are paying more attention. Secondly, we want people to phone in if they have any questions and we’ll walk them through it.

“We have had a lot of people call in just to make sure. A year or two ago, people wouldn’t have thought about it, but people now have it high in their minds now.”

He said planned for the near future is mobile banking.

Susan Young, senior change delivery manager, said the update was a “great effort of a large extended team from not just Bermuda, but parties from around the globe.

“We wanted to say thank you to the effort of that team because it was a big effort and it went smoothly.”

Organising bill payees and saved tranfers is easier in Business Internet Banking, one user can create a Bill Payee or Saved Transfers and all users of the profile will have access to the template.