Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Are you struggling with moving from paper and wonder what is in it for YOU?

Most people would say that eSTATEMENTS may be a bit of old news.  Most banks, Texas Bank and Trust included, introduced them several years ago, with many using clever “GO Green” campaigns to promote the eco-friendly benefits of electronic statements.  While most banks had about a 30 percent customer response, the remainder of their customers were left asking why THEY should switch from paper to electronic statements when they really only saw the benefits to the bank.  Yes, it does make bank processes easier but there are significant benefits to our customers as well; not to mention the fact that each of us probably needs to evaluate our environmental footprint.  By the way, did you know that there are several sites online where you can take an ecological footprint quiz to determine how much “nature” your lifestyle requires? (See myfootprint.org or earthday.org)  Sorry, I got off the subject a little there but our environmental impact does matter.   Here is my take on just a few of the benefits:
  1.  eSTATEMENTS are more secure – That’s right! With all of the fraud that happens today, you may be apprehensive at times to bank online. However, the fact is, if you do bank online and review your accounts regularly (more often than once a month) you will identify fraud sooner than you would just reviewing your accounts when you receive a paper statement.  If you bank online you control the security settings on your personal computer (visit ourFraud Protection Center online for “security settings and precautions”); whereas, you cannot control mail fraud.   Unfortunately, we live in a world today that requires us to actively monitor and protect all of our non-public information.  Case in point, a few months ago, a customer who had never banked online had someone steal one of his checks; create a fraudulent account; and attempt to pay bills out of it. Fortunately, this story had a happy ending and we were able to stop the checks before they cleared his account.  However, after that experience, our customer decided to set up online banking immediately so he could see what was happening to his accounts in real-time.
  2. You can view your statement online the NEXT business day after it is processed – You are probably thinking, is that really a big deal to view your statements right away when you can just view your statement in a few days when the postal service delivers?  Maybe not such a big deal to some but consider this, an online statement will be delivered more securely -access to eSTATEMENTS is password-protected and encrypted; you will be alerted with an email notification the minute your electronic statement is available; third, you can store your eSTATEMENTS online for up to 15 months or choose the non-green option and print it for future reference; and, last but not least, eSTATEMENTS  simply eliminates the clutter created by stacking or filing bank statements for future use and eliminates the time wasted shredding old paper statements.
  3. Save yourself a trip to the mailbox – Yes this could be a benefit but most of us go to the mailbox everyday anyway.  The real benefit in your statement not being delivered to your mailbox is that there is one less thing in your mailbox that has your bank account information on it.  Unfortunately, fraudsters prey on mailboxes and love to steal anything that you receive in the mail that has a bank name on it, especially account statements and checks.
  4. We could plant a tree for every 12 statements that you receive?  Would you see it as a benefit?  Well, although I wish that we could plant a tree for every 12 statements that you receive, I don’t really think that will be possible.  But what I can do is state that we will not have to cut down additional trees to create paper for each paper statement you receive.
So yes, eSTATEMENTS are a great alternative to paper, they are a secure means of receiving your account statement, available for 15 months so you can look back or prepare your taxes, and you get to do your part in helping our environment.   If you are now wondering how you can sign up, that is the greatest benefit because it is easy!  Once you sign up for online banking, click on the “eSTATEMENTS” tab on your online banking tool bar and check the box for all accounts.  If you already have online banking, just login and click the “contact us” button and send us an email at cservice@texasbankandtrust.com, or simply call us at 903.237.1881. We will get you set it up. 
Sign up for eSTATEMENTS today! And don’t forget to take your ecological footprint quiz! 

By: Sheri Parish
       Senior Vice President and
       Assistant Manger of the Technology Department