Can you give someone your internet banking password?

In our October newsletter, we ran an article Greed and Fixed Interest (Are investors getting too greedy with fixed interest again?)

We referred to NZ Herald article about Peer-to-Peer Lending (check out the article here Diana Clement: Caution needed over peer-to-peer platform).  When we read the article, we thought it was a little strange that to set up your account, you had to fill in your bank account details and enter your internet password.  We didn't do it, but the most succinct response to this request came from one of our clients (who works at a major bank, in an area where they deal with these issues).

Read the article about P2P.  Absolutely shocked at the requirement to enter your internet banking password into Harmony's system.  I can't believe that they are getting away with this, as it is incredibly bad practice, not to mention a breach of the bank's terms and conditions for internet banking.  Aren't the banks howling about it?  It represents a huge risk (since that's our subject today) because the bank will not reimburse you for any loss that can be traced back (even tenuously) to your breach of the Terms  and Conditions.

The point of this warning is, be circumspect, be careful, protect your security at all times, and be careful about what risks you are taking in the pursuit of extra investment return.  If you are not sure if these conditions relate to your bank, contact them, remember, when you accept a credit card, an eftpos or debit card, or sign up to internet banking, you are accepting the terms and conditions (even if you didn't actually read them.)

If you have any thoughts or opinions that you would like to share, visit us at our Twitter, Facebook or Linked In pages, and comment.