Primebank and Shazam Have Your Passport to Explore!

Go where you want to go and do what you want to do this summer!  Explore the ease and convenience of paying with your debit card and it can also become your ticket to win!  Each time you pay with your debit card between July 1 and September 30, 2010, you are automatically entered for a chance to win these great prizes!

Fun with the Good Neighbors Club

Primebank's Good Neighbors Club has a summer full of fun for club members.  Contact Debra VanDenBerg for information regarding the Good Neighbors Club summer schedule.

2010 - The year to convert to a Roth IRA?

A Roth IRA is an excellent tool for accumulating wealth because Roth IRAs grow tax-free and qualified withdrawals are tax-free after age        59 1/2.  Plus, there are no mandatory distributions at age 70 1/2.

Primebank Donates Third Trolley to Plymouth County Fair

At a Chamber of Commerce Coffee, July 22nd, Primebank presented the Plymouth County Fair Board with Primebank Trolley #3. 

Mobile Banking Now Available

Banking is now easier than ever. With Primebank's new Mobile Banking, you can access your accounts through your cell phone. The service is free. All you need to begin is a web-enabled cell phone and Primebank's Internet Banking service.

Mobile Banking allows you to access your account information when and where you need it. With just a few quick strokes on your cell phone you can see your account balance, view your recent transactions, transfer money between accounts, and much more. It has all of the security of Online Banking and all of the convenience of your cell phone.

Remember, Mobile Banking is FREE to our Internet Banking customers! Sign up today by clicking on the Internet Banking link to the left.

Health Savings Account

Primebank now offers both a Health Savings Account and a Health Checking Account. Let us show you how Health Savings Accounts offer you an alternative way to manage your health care costs.

Our new Health Checking Account offers:

• Checks and Debit Cards.
It is no longer necessary for you to transfer money from another account to pay for your qualified medical expenses.

• A tiered interest rate structure.
As the balance in your Health Checking Account grows, so does the interest rate. The higher your account balance, the higher the interest rate you receive.

This account is geared to the individual with frequent medical expenses who wants to pay those expenses by either check or debit card.

Our revised Health Savings Account offers:

• A tiered interest rate structure.
As the balance in your Health Checking Account grows, so does the interest rate. The higher your account balance, the higher the interest rate you receive.

This account is ideal if you experience infrequent medical expenses and want a high yielding savings account. You can still utilize this Health Savings Account and transfer needed funds to your personal checking account to pay qualified medical expenses, as has been the case with our H.S.A.'s in the past.

Member FDIC

Internet Banking More Secure Than Ever!

“Prime Online Security” is coming to Primebank Internet Banking in early January. It is Primebank’s next step in providing you with an even safer Internet Banking environment. Recently, we enhanced Internet Banking security by upgrading passwords. Implementing “Prime Online Security” adds an additional layer of security that is meant to safeguard your sensitive financial information from online fraud and identity theft. When you log in to Internet Banking, “Prime Online Security” identifies you and allows you to distinguish the Primebank site by displaying a private image and pass phrase that only you know. The private image and pass phrase will allow you to be sure you are on the Primebank Internet Banking site, not a fraudulent site. Secondly, “Prime Online Security” provides you added safety by helping us identify you as the true owner of your account and prevent unauthorized access to your accounts. If our Internet Banking site does not recognize your computer as a registered personal machine, your identity will be verified through a series of challenge questions that are set up by you at the time of enrollment. These measures are being put into place to further strengthen our efforts to protect you. Simply, follow the instructions on the brochure to enroll in “Prime Online Security”. To find out more about “Prime Online Security” please refer to the questions and answers below. If you need help we are only a phone call away at (712) 546-4175 in Le Mars, (712) 722-4545 in Sioux Center or (712) 224-5400 in Sioux City. Our customer service representatives will be glad to help you. Sincerely, Matthew J. Ahlers President & CEO

“Prime Online Security”

Background – In October 2005, the FFIEC (Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council) issued new guidance for banks regarding data security measures associated with Internet banking activities. Banks are expected to conform to the guidance no later than December 31, 2006. The FFIEC and other regulatory agencies consider single factor authentication (i.e. password) inadequate protection for high-risk transactions including customer information or funds movement. Where single-factor authentication is inadequate, the FFIEC guidance calls for banks to implement multifactor authentication, layered security, or other comparable controls to mitigate the risk of fraud or identity theft. Primebank will enhancing our Internet Banking with multifactor authentication called “Prime Online Security” to comply with this requirement. This enhancement will protect your login credentials from potential identity theft.

How “Prime Online Security” Works – The first time users log in following implementation, the new security feature will require that they establish a security profile by selecting an Authentication Image and Pass Phrase and creating three (3) challenge questions. Once the profile has been completed, users will receive their Authentication Image and Pass Phrase each time they attempt to log in to Internet Banking. This image allows customers to verify they are at the Primebank website prior to entry of confidential data or access to account information. During setup, the Prime Online Security product also records the PC characteristics and creates a registration for the specific computer being utilized. During each subsequent log in attempt, the registered information is compared to the current PC identification. If the data differs, the challenge questions are presented to fully authenticate the user. The user is also offered the option to register the new PC for future use. Once registered, the user is presented the selected Authentication Image each time they log in from any registered computer in their profile. This allows users to streamline their authentication process based on their personal needs.

Q1. Why is Primebank using Prime Online Security technology?
A1. We are committed to proactively protecting our customers from fraud and identity theft. Prime Online Security helps protect you in two ways. First, it helps you recognize that you are conducting business on Primebank’s Internet Banking website. When you see your Authentication Image and Pass Phrase, you can be confident that you are at the legitimate website, not an imposter site. Make sure you see your Authentication Image before you enter your password! Secondly, the bank is also able to recognize you as the true owner of your account. If we do not recognize your computer, we will ask you one of your challenge questions as an additional line of defense against unauthorized access.

Q2. Where is my password?
A2. We no longer prompt you for your access ID and password on the same page. To enhance the security of Internet Banking, you are prompted for your password after you have identified yourself by your access ID and we have identified the device from which you are logging in. If you are enrolled in Prime Online Security, we retrieve your Authentication Image and Pass Phrase and present this on the password page. This allows you to be sure that you are connecting to a Primebank Internet Banking site before entering your password.

Q3. When I enter my access ID, it asks me a question instead of showing my Authentication Image. Why?
A3. This is to help verify that it is really you signing in. These challenge questions are meant to keep imposters out because only you know the answers to these questions. There are several reasons why you might be challenged. Some reasons might be:
- you are logging in from a different computer
- you are logging in using a different browser
- you cleared all the cookies on your computer
If you are challenged, answer the question with the correct answer and you will be shown your Authentication Image and Pass Phrase.

Q4. Can I access my account from multiple computers?
A4. Yes, you can access Internet Banking from any number of computers and have the same Prime Online Security protections. If you log in from a new computer or a public terminal, you will just need to go through one extra step of answering a challenge question. Once you answer the question correctly, we will ask you if you would like us to recognize that computer in the future. If you answer yes, you will not need to answer a challenge question the next time you use that computer. This helps protect you by keeping unauthorized people from accessing your valuable information. There is no limit on how many different computers you can use to log in to Internet Banking.

Q5. I share my computer with someone who also uses Internet Banking. Can both of us still sign in from this computer?
A5. Yes. You can use the same computer to log in to your individual accounts safely; you will not see the other user’s information. There is no limit to how many people can log in to Internet Banking from the same computer. Just remember not to share your access ID, password or answers to your challenge questions.

Q6. What should I do if my Authentication Image and/or Pass Phrase are incorrect or do not appear?
A6. Do Not enter your password and immediately call one of our customer service representatives in Le Mars (712)546-4175 or Sioux Center (712)722-4545.

NEW INTERNET BANKING SAFETY MEASURES TO PROTECT YOU

In November, Primebank introduced the first in a series of steps designed to make Internet Banking more secure than ever. The measures were meant to minimize your risk of identity theft and fraud.

You may recall that you had to change your password in early November. Keep in mind that you will need to change your password every three months. This change makes your password more secure and therefore your financial information safer. When it is time to change or modify your password follow the guidelines listed below:

• Choose a password that is a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 16 characters long
• At least one numeric and at least one alphabetic character
• At least one uppercase and at least one lowercase character
• At least one special character (i.e. !, @, %, ^, &, *, etc. )
• An example of a password after the changes is, “Primebank#1”

The second step also took place in November. Now when you are logged in you see only the last three digits of your account numbers, the other digits are x’d out. Many credit card providers have employed this measure. We encourage you to take advantage of the ability to nickname your accounts to make it easier to identify which accounts you want to view.

These additional security measures are strong steps to protect you from identity theft and online fraud. Remember, it’s our priority to serve you and protect your financial interests.