@russellallert Ouch! No, I don’t think so… Even though most folks are conscious to some extent that privacy is out the door once you get busy in the digital world, Facebook is the poster-boy for all that’s wrong with respect of privacy, or lack thereof. (whether Facebook is any worse offender than other social media outlets is up for debate, but we’ll leave this one for another thread…)

Privacy is less of an issue in everyday life, if you share photos, videos, comments, jokes, etc. Even for brands, it’s a great environment to engage with customers, fans and potential business allies. But banking? Do you want to transact directly on Facebook and share with all your friends that you just made a deposit for 5,000$? Or have 3 friends “like” the fact you just renegotiated a new mortgage?

Maybe I’m missing the point…

@glengorham I have worked at a bank and a CU as well, Glen, and while I understand security I don’t think this is really that far-fetched.

@fredericgonzalo 

The security issue is not one that I would worry about as the page is located on the bank’s servers and sent via maximum secure encryption – just like any other website. So I don’t really see how different this is from a regular banking site – it’s just that it is available from their Facebook page.

I like the idea personally.

Russell

@russellallert I was shocked when I read this. Obviously Facebook is always changing and creating more options but I would say it is rather risky of the bank to post such access. I would be interested to see if any other overseas banks follow suit. 

I think this is a great innovation and yet another extension of the reach of SMM.  It’s 100% secure (or as secure as any online banking is).  ICICI only uses FB as the vehicle to distribute the ‘Bank Account’ app and a convenient way to access. The transaction is totally external to FB and there is zero information sharing.

ICICI is India’s most modern and market aware bank.  But from personal experience (account holder) they are still a typically conservative bank when it comes to security.

I applaud the initiative and have forwarded the link to my contacts here at the Bank of Queensland (another innovator) to see if they will pick up the ball.

David Wilks

I must agree, this looks like a great innovation. It is, afterall, just another interface for online banking and security is not an issue. As I see it, it’s a nice stunt to improve their image. I am just wandering how well customers will receive this offer and how will the bank fight off any doubts about security and so on. Great post, @russellallert

@russellallert, i am from India, and as far as i know,i don’t thing icici’s fb initiative will be much worth, coz people here are constantly concerning online security and privacy and hence they will limit themselves to timepass with fb and not banking with fb

I think that, as we can see here, it’s more of a personal opinion. Yes it can be secure, and yes it is very innovative and would appeal to many people. However, personally, I don’t think I can see myself banking through Facebook as a – as @RussellAllert put it, perception problem. To me, banking needs to feel secure and secluded – I doubt that I would feel that way doing it through Facebook.

It will be interesting to follow their success though

@russellallert oh dear! Credit goes to you, you raised this awesome point first, we just replied!