ELECTRONIC ACCESS TO ACCOUNT INFORMATION AND FINANCIAL PRIVACY

Technological advances have made it easier for depositors to gain access to their funds on deposit, these advances have also made it easier for nondepositors to gain access to account information and sometimes even to the funds themselves. One result has been to place financial institutions in the middle of a legal battle between the commercial community's right to account information and the laws that protect personal records from prying eyes. This article focuses on the confused state of the law in this area and closes with a few suggestions for financial institutions on how to avoid liability.