IF YOUR PASSWORD HAS BEEN LOST
OR STOLEN
Tell us AT ONCE
if you believe your Password has been lost or stolen, or if another person has
discovered the Password. Telephoning
is the best way of minimizing your potential losses (you could lose all funds in
your account). For personal
accounts only, if you inform us within two business days that someone is using
your password without your permission, your losses will be limited to no more
that $50. If you do NOT tell us
within two business days after you learn of the loss or theft of your password,
and we can prove that we could have stopped someone from using the password to
make transfers without your permission had you told us, you could lose as much
as $500. Also, if your statement
shows transactions that you did not make, tell us at once. If you do not tell us within 60 days after the statement was
mailed to you, you may not get back any funds you lost after the 60 days if we
can prove that we could have stopped someone from taking said funds if you
informed us in time. If you were
prevented from informing us for good reason (such as a long trip or a hospital
stay), we will consider extending the time period.
When you give someone your Preferred Bank ATM or/and On-line Banking
Password, you are authorizing that person to use the service, and you are
responsible for all transactions the person performs using the service. All
transactions that person performs, even those transactions you did not intend or
want performed, are authorized transactions. If you notify us that the person is
no longer authorized, then transactions that person performs after the time you
notify us are considered unauthorized. (Transactions that you or someone acting
with you initiates with fraudulent intent are also authorized transactions). For
your protection, log off after every Online Banking session and close your
browser to ensure confidentiality.
BANKING TRANSACTIONS WITH
ON-LINE BANKING
In
addition to viewing account information, you may use On-line Banking to conduct
the following transactions:
-
Transfer funds among your
linked checking accounts, savings accounts, and money market accounts from
accounts with the same signers and same vesting only.
If Preferred Bank becomes aware of account transfers with different
signers or vesting, we will restrict the transaction and remove the account
from on-line viewing.
Because regulations require
Preferred Bank to limit pre-authorized transfers (including On-line Banking
transfers), the following limitations apply:
Savings Account - Transfers from a Preferred Savings account to
another account or to third parties by pre-authorized, automatic, or
telephone transfer are limited to three per month.
Money Market Account -
Transfers from a Money Market account to another account or to third parties
by pre-authorized, automatic, or telephone transfer are limited to six per
month with no more than three by check, draft, debit card, or similar order
to third parties.
-
Download
transactions to Quicken or Money software program.
New
services may be introduced for On-line Banking from time to time.
Preferred Bank will notify you of the existence of these new services.
By using these services when they become available, you agree to be bound
by the rules that will be made available to you concerning these services.
STATEMENTS
You will
continue to receive your regular account statement either monthly or quarterly,
depending on the type of account. If your statement shows transfers that you did
not make, notify Preferred Bank immediately by calling us at 213-891-1188, 9:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
If you do
not notify Preferred Bank within sixty (60) days after the statement was mailed
to you, you may not recover any money lost after the sixty (60) days which would
not have been lost if Preferred Bank had been notified in time.
If a good reason (such as a long trip or hospital stay) delayed you from
contacting Preferred Bank, Preferred Bank will consider extending these time
periods.
ERRORS AND QUESTIONS
In case
of errors or questions regarding an On-line Banking or Bill Payment transaction,
call Preferred Bank at 213-891-1188, or write us at:
Preferred
Bank
Attention: Internet Customer
Service
601 So. Figueroa St., 20th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017
We must
hear from you at the specified telephone number or address no later than sixty
(60) days after we sent you the first statement on which the problem or error
appeared. We will need:
-
Your
name and account number.
-
A description of the error or the transfer in question, and an explanation
concerning why you believe it is an error or need more information.
-
The
dollar amount of the suspected error.
-
The
date on which it occurred.
If the
report is made orally, we may require that you send the complaint or question in
writing within ten (10) business days. We
will notify you with the results of the investigation within ten (10) business
days and will correct any error promptly. If
more time is needed, however, we may take up to forty-five (45) days to
investigate a complaint or question. If
this occurs, we will credit your account within ten (10) business days for the
amount you think is in error. This
will allow you to use the money during the time it takes us to complete our
investigation. If your complaint or
question is not received in writing within ten (10) business days, we may not
credit your account until the investigation is completed.
If an
alleged error involves an electronic fund transfer outside a state or territory
or possession of the United States, the applicable time periods for action by us
are twenty (20) business days (instead of ten) and ninety (90) calendar days
(instead of forty-five).
If we
determine that no error occurred, we will send you a written explanation within
three business days after the investigation is complete.
You may request copies of the documents that were used in the
investigation.
You agree
that Preferred Bank may respond to you by electronic mail with regard to any
claim of unauthorized electronic fund transfer related to the Service.
Any such electronic mail sent to you by Preferred Bank shall be
considered received within three (3) days of the date sent by Preferred Bank,
regardless of whether or not you sign on to the Service within that time frame.
PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO
BUSINESSES
You agree that we may send notices and other
communications including Password confirmations, to the current address shown in
our records, whether or not that address includes a designation for delivery to
the attention of any particular individual. You further agree that Preferred
Bank will not be responsible or liable to you in any way if information is
intercepted by an unauthorized person, either in transit or at your place of
business. You agree to:
-
Keep your Password secure and strictly
confidential, providing it only to authorized signers on your account(s).
-
Instruct each person to whom you give your Password that he or she is not to
disclose it to any unauthorized person.
-
Immediately notify us and select a new
Password if you believe an unauthorized person may have know your Password.
THE BANK WILL HAVE NO LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY
UNAUTHORIZED PAYMENT OR TRANSFER MADE USING YOUR PASSWORD THAT OCCURS BEFORE YOU
HAVE NOTIFIED US OF POSSIBLE UNAUTHORIZED USE AND WE HAVE HAD A REASONABLE
OPPORTUNITY TO ACT ON THAT NOTICE. We may suspend or cancel your Password even
without receiving such notice from you, if we suspect your Password is being
used in an unauthorized or fraudulent manner.
By using the On-line Banking service, you
acknowledge and agree that this Agreement sets forth security procedures for
electronic banking transactions, which are commercially reasonable. You agree to
be bound by instructions, whether authorized or unauthorized, which we implement
in compliance with these procedures, unless you have given us prior notice of
possible unauthorized use as described above (and we had a reasonable
opportunity to act on such notice).
If we fail or delay in making a payment or transfer pursuant to your
instructions, or if we make a payment or transfer in an erroneous amount which
is less than the amount per your instructions, unless otherwise required by law,
our liability shall be limited to interest on the amount which we failed to
timely pay or transfer, calculated from the date on which the payment or
transfer was to be made until the date it was actually made or you canceled the
instructions. We may pay such interest either to you or the intended recipient
of the payment or transfer, but in no event will we be liable to both parties,
and our payment to either party will fully discharge any obligation to the
other. If we make a payment or transfer in an erroneous amount which exceeds the
amount per your instructions, or if we permit an unauthorized payment or
transfer after we have had a reasonable time to act on a notice from you of
possible unauthorized use as described above, unless otherwise required by law,
our liability will be limited to a refund of the amount erroneously paid or
transferred, plus interest thereon from the date of the payment or transfer to
the date of the refund, but in no event to exceed 60 days' interest. If we
become liable to you for interest compensation under this Agreement or
applicable law, such interest shall be calculated based on the average federal
funds rate at the Federal Reserve Bank in the district where the Bank is
headquartered for each day interest is due, computed on the basis of a 360-day
year. UNLESS OTHERWISE REQUIRED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL THE BANK BE LIABLE TO
YOU FOR SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING, WITHOUT
LIMITATION, LOST PROFITS OR ATTORNEYS' FEES, EVEN IF WE ARE ADVISED IN ADVANCE
OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSET CONTROL
Under
the Bank Secrecy Act, the Bank is prohibited from transacting business with
persons or entities listed as “blocked” by the Office of Foreign Assets
Control (OFAC). The official
listing is published in the Federal Register and updated from time to time.
You agree not to transact business with persons or entities blocked by
OFAC.
LIMIT OF PREFERRED BANK AND
OTHER PROVIDER'S RESPONSIBILITY
Preferred
Bank agrees to make reasonable efforts to ensure full performance of On-line
Banking. Preferred Bank will be
responsible for acting only on those instructions sent through On-line Banking,
which are actually received, and cannot assume responsibility for malfunctions
in communication facilities not under our control, which may affect the accuracy
or timeliness of messages you send. Preferred
Bank is not responsible for any losses incurred should you give incorrect
instructions, or if your payment instructions are not given sufficiently in
advance to allow for timely payment or delays in mail service.
Any
information you receive from Preferred Bank or Other Information Providers is
believed to be reliable. However,
it can only be provided on a best-efforts basis for your convenience and is not
guaranteed. Preferred Bank is not
liable for any deficiencies in the accuracy, completeness, availability, or
timeliness of such information, or for any investment or other decision made
using this information.
Neither
Preferred Bank nor Other Information Providers are responsible for any computer
virus or related problems, which may be attributable to services provide by any
Access Service Provider.
You are
responsible for obtaining, installing, maintaining, and operating all computer
hardware and software necessary for performing On-line Banking. Preferred Bank
will not be responsible for any errors or failures from the malfunction or
failure of your hardware or software.
Except as
otherwise provided in the Preferred Bank's Responsibility section below, and in
the absence of negligence on the part of Preferred Bank, neither Preferred Bank,
any Other Information Provider, nor any Other Software Supplier is responsible
for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages arising
in any way out of the use of On-line Banking.
PREFERRED BANK'S RESPONSIBILITY
Preferred
Bank will be responsible for your actual losses if they were directly caused by
our failure to:
However,
we will not be responsible for your losses if:
-
Through
no fault of Preferred Bank, you do not have enough money in your account to
make the transfer.
-
Through no fault of Preferred Bank, the transaction would have caused you to
exceed your available credit.
-
Circumstances
beyond our control (e.g., fire, flood, power outage, equipment or technical
failure or breakdown) prevent the transfer, despite reasonable precautions
that we have taken.
-
There
is a hold on your account, or if access to your account is blocked in
accordance with banking policy.
-
Your
funds are subject to legal process or other encumbrance restricting the
transfer.
-
Your
transfer authorization terminates by operation of law.
-
You
believe someone has accessed your accounts without your permission and you
fail to notify us immediately.
-
You
have not properly followed the scheduling instructions on how to make a
transfer included in this Agreement.
-
We
have received incomplete or inaccurate information from you or a third party
involving the account or transfer.
-
We
have a reasonable basis for believing that unauthorized use of your Password
or account has occurred or may be occurring, or if you default under this
Agreement, the Deposit Account Agreement, a credit agreement, or any other
agreement with us, or if we or you terminate this Agreement.
There may
be other exceptions stated in this agreement and in other agreements with you.
In no event shall we be liable for damages in excess of your actual loss
due to our failure to complete a transfer, and we will not be liable for any
incidental or consequential damages.
If any of
the circumstances listed above shall occur, we shall assist you with reasonable
efforts in taking appropriate corrective action to reprocess the transactions
that may not have been completed or to correct incorrect transactions that have
been processed.
ELECTRONIC MAIL
If you
send Preferred Bank an electronic mail message, Preferred Bank will be deemed to
have received it on the following business day.
Preferred Bank will have a reasonable time to act on your e-mail.
You
should not rely on electronic mail if you need to communicate with Preferred
Bank immediately. Transactions such
as notification of an unauthorized transaction from one of your accounts, or if
you need to place a stop payment must not be sent through e-mail.
You agree
that Preferred Bank may respond to you by electronic mail with regard to any
matter related to the Service, including responding to any claim of unauthorized
electronic funds transfer that you make. Any
such electronic mail sent to you by Preferred Bank shall be considered received
within three (3) days of the date sent by Preferred Bank, regardless of whether
or not you
sign on to the Service within that time
frame.
PRIVACY POLICY
Protecting customer information received through
all of our service channels - at banking offices, via ATMs, by telephone, and
through our Web site - is of the highest importance to us.
At Preferred Bank we understand that our customers ("you" or
"your") have an expectation that the personal information you provide
to us is to be kept confidential. Accordingly,
we have a long-standing policy of protecting confidential information about you
and your transactions. Our privacy
policy, described below, applies not only to written files, but also to personal
information you provide us through transactions you conduct on-line, by
telephone, or when you send us E-mail.
Collection and Retention of Non-Public
Personal Information We collect and
retain information about you to identify and communicate with you, to provide
you with products and services you have requested, to help us respond to your
questions, and to inform you about other financial services that may be of
interest to you.
We collect the following types of non-public personal information about you from
the following sources:
-
Information we receive about your identity,
such as your name, address, social security number, or driver's license
numbers;
-
Information about your transactions with us,
or others, such as your account balance, loan payment history, or ATM, debit
or credit card usage;
-
Information that we receive from you on
applications or other forms, such as information about your income and
assets;
-
Information we receive from consumer reporting
agencies, such as your credit history and creditworthiness; and
-
Information we receive from marketing analysis
companies for marketing purposes, such as economic and demographic data.
Disclosure of Non-Public Personal
Information to Non-Affiliated Third Parties
We do not disclose non-public personal information about you or our former
customers to non-affiliated third parties, except as permitted or required by
law. We may disclose all of the
information we collect, as described in the Collection
and Retention of Non-Public Personal Information section above, to
companies that perform marketing services on our behalf or to other financial
institutions with whom we have joint marketing agreements to offer financial
products and services to you.
Disclosure of Non-Public Personal
Information in Other Circumstances - We
may also disclose non-public personal information about you as necessary to
effect, administer, or enforce transactions that you have requested or
authorized, or in connection with servicing or processing a financial product or
service you have requested or authorized, or to maintain or service your
accounts with us, or as otherwise described below.
We normally disclose information:
-
When it is necessary or helpful in completing
a transaction;
-
To verify the existence and condition of your
account for a third party, such as a merchant, another financial institution
or a credit reporting agency;
-
To an account verification service, in
addition to a credit reporting agency, if we close your account due to
unsatisfactory handling, fraud, attempted fraud or criminal activity;
-
To comply with a law, regulation, legal
process or court order which applies to us or to an affiliate;
-
In response to an inquiry about sufficient
funds to cover a check you have written;
-
When you authorize us to;
-
To other companies, financial institutions and
networks which may be involved in processing your transactions;
-
To local, state or federal authorities, if we
believe a crime may have been committed;
-
To paying agencies after the death or
incapacity of a recipient or beneficiary of recurring direct deposit
payments;
-
To our agents and affiliates and to third
parties who perform services or functions on our behalf to facilitate the
delivery of information related to your accounts or to other financial
services that may be of interest to you;
-
In response to requests by our regulatory
agencies or requests by agents of the Bank or its affiliated companies, such
as independent auditors, consultants or attorneys.
Our Employees’ Access to and Use of Customer Information -
Each of our employees has responsibility for maintaining the confidentiality of
customer information. We require
all of our employees to agree in writing to protect the confidentiality of
customer information and to use it only for our business purposes.
Our policy is to prohibit employees from accessing your personal
information unless there is a business reason to do so.
Internal access and sharing of information about you within our various
service units occurs to evaluate, structure and facilitate the services you have
requested or to inform you of other financial services that may be of interest
to you. We train our employees to
recognize the importance of customer confidentiality.
Employees who violate these standards are subject to disciplinary
measures.
Our Security Procedures – We also take other steps to
safeguard customer information by maintaining physical, electronic, and
procedural safeguards that comply with federal standards to guard your
non-public personal information.
Maintaining the Accuracy of Customer Information -
We have procedures to see that customer information is maintained in
a commercially reasonable manner so that it is accurate, current, and complete. We also have procedures to see that requests to correct
inaccurate or incomplete information are acted upon in a timely manner.
We maintain security standards and procedures to help prevent
unauthorized access to confidential customer information, and we regularly
review, test and update our technology and procedures to improve the security
and accuracy of such information. We
investigate your inquiries about information received from us (or from a credit
bureau reflecting information we have provided) that you believe to be
inaccurate and we take steps to correct information we determine to be
incorrect.
Maintaining Confidentiality in Our Business Relationships with Other
Companies - From time to time we contract with other businesses to
perform specific services in support of our products. When it is necessary to
provide confidential customer information to a third party, we require each
business that we select to agree to adhere to the same privacy standards, laws
and regulations that apply to us. That is, we require such third parties to
agree to safeguard non-public personal information regarding our customers in
accordance with our own privacy policies.
On-line Banking Security - At Preferred Bank we take security
very seriously. The latest methods
in Internet system security, as upgraded from time to time, are used to increase
and monitor the integrity and security of our system.
Data security between the customer browser and our
Web server is handled through a security protocol called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
SSL provides data encryption, server authentication, and message
integrity for an Internet connection. In
addition, SSL provides a security "handshake" that is used to initiate
the connection. This handshake
results in the client and server agreeing on the level of security they will use
and fulfills any authentication requirements for the connection. Currently
Preferred Bank online banking application supports data encryption at the
highest level (128 bit). In order to get this level of encryption, you will need
a browser that supports it. Both
versions 3 and 4 of the most popular browsers support 40-bit encryption as a
default, although you can upgrade your security level very easily. For those clients that are using Internet Explorer, the
upgrade process is fairly simple. By
simply clicking on Help and About Internet Explorer after bringing up the
browser, you will notice a Cipher Strength.
This will tell you the security level, and give you an opportunity to
upgrade via the hyperlink to Upgrade Information.
For those of your clients using Netscape, there is a similar process.
By clicking on Help and Software Upgrades after bringing up the browser,
you will be taken to a SMART Upgrades screen from which you can download the
updated version of 128-bit encryption software.
All other browsers will probably need to go to their software company's
home page, where many times the upgrades are available for download.
Children’s Privacy - Our
web site is directed to a general audience. We do not knowingly solicit or
collect personal information from children on our site.
Availability of Disclosure of Privacy Policy This disclosure is available in our banking offices, and our on-line
disclosure of our privacy policy is available on our Web site at:
www.preferredbank.com
This disclosure of our privacy policy applies to
consumers. We reserve the right to
make changes to this policy at any time. We will notify you if we do so.
OTHER AGREEMENTS
In
addition to this Agreement, you and Preferred Bank agree to be bound by and
comply with the requirements of the agreements applicable to each of your
On-line Accounts. Your use of the
On-line Banking service is your acknowledgment that you have received these
agreements and intend to be bound by them.
(You should review other disclosures received by you when you open your
accounts at Preferred Bank, including the charges that may be imposed for
electronic funds transfers or the right to make transfers listed in the fee
schedules accompanying those disclosures and the fee schedule at the end of this
Agreement).
MODIFICATIONS TO THIS AGREEMENT
Preferred
Bank may modify the terms and conditions applicable to either Service from time
to time upon mailing or delivering a notice of the modifications to you at the
address shown on our account records, and the revised terms and conditions shall
be effective at the earliest date allowed by applicable law.
We may send any notice to you via electronic mail and you will have been
deemed to have received it three (3) days after it is sent.
We reserve the right to terminate this Agreement and your use of the
Services in whole or in part at any time without prior notice.
INACTIVITY / TERMINATION
You are
responsible for complying with all the terms of this Agreement and with the
terms of the agreement governing the deposit accounts which you access using
electronic banking services. We can
terminate your On-line Banking privileges under this Agreement without notice to
you if you do not pay any fee required by this Agreement when due, if you do not
comply with the Agreements governing your deposit or loan accounts, or your
accounts are not maintained in good standing.
We will promptly notify you if we terminate this Agreement or your use of
the services for any other reason.
If you
are not paying a monthly service charge for the Service, we may convert your
account to inactive status if you do not sign on to the Service or have any
transaction scheduled through the Service during any consecutive ninety (90) day
period. If your account is
considered inactive, you must contact us to have the Service activated before
you will be able to schedule any transaction through the Service.
To cancel
the On-line Banking Service, you must notify Preferred Bank and provide your
name, address, and the effective date to stop the service
You may
notify Preferred Bank by one of the following methods:
-
By
initiating a customer inquiry through our Web site.
-
By calling 213-891-1188, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
-
By
writing a letter and either sending it to the following address or giving it
to a Banking Officer at any location:
Preferred
Bank
Attention: Internet Customer
Service
601 So. Figueroa St. 20th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017
GOVERNING LAW
This
Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of California and applicable
federal laws.
