|
April 2006
Everyman's economy
Focus
Everyman's economy
Clothing industry gets a further breather
The beleaguered clothing and textiles industry is to receive further import relief to offset the difficult trading conditions brought about by cheaper Oriental imports. This comes in the wake of a string of recent industry help lines, including broadcast exposure, skills development and a Sanlam sponsorship to boost demand for local clothing.
Standard Bank's Rashika Lalla writes in ResearchEconomics that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will soon start providing some breathing room for producers in this segment of the economy through an import relief agreement being concluded with the People's Republic of China.
This will help stave off the effect on both the clothing and the textiles industries currently battling the significant price advantages of imported Chinese goods.
Further, the tradability of Duty Credit Certificates will in future be restricted to SA clothing manufacturers and those retailers with manufacturing facilities. These interventions are likely to give some support to investment and textile production in the region, which will give some impetus to manufacturing production as a whole.
Focus on Personal Finances
Cellphone and telephone banking: 100% security
We've been discussing electronic banking in Money Matters, focusing on security in the last two issues. We wrap up this topic with a look at how cellphone and telephone banking is made secure. In this issue we also suggest some Personal Identification Number (PIN) protection measures – absolutely essential, considering that all secure banking these days is dependent on secret PINs.
As with Internet banking, security measures for cellphone banking vary from bank to bank, but generally include high-security software, PINs, and confirmation procedures.
- The high-security software encrypts information leaving your cellphone, and can only be decoded by the bank. This prevents anyone from viewing your transaction or accessing your accounts. This also means that no one can access the information that the bank sends to you.
- Your PIN is an essential part of the cellphone banking process and must be accurately entered when prompted. If inaccurately entered, the system will not allowed you to proceed. Some banks request your card number and your PIN before you can proceed.
- In a typical confirmation procedure, you receive an SMS from your bank confirming that the transaction you requested has been completed.
What happens if your cellphone is lost or stolen? Again, your information and accounts are safe, because absolutely no banking information is actually stored in your cellphone. Your cellphone is simply a tool for sending instructions to your bank, and not a record-keeping device.
Telephone banking also relies on card numbers and PINs for security – as with cellphone banking, you may not proceed with your transactions if you enter the incorrect numbers. As an additional security measure, some banks also have a voice verification system, which identifies your voice before you can proceed.
Furthermore, all calls are recorded, and these records can be accessed if there is a dispute between you and your bank about a transaction you requested.
And for extra peace of mind it's worth knowing that the telephone line to your bank is always secure – no one can tap into it.
PIN savvy
So here we are in the electronic age of banking, where instead of being recognised in person by the teller behind the counter at the local village bank, we have to create unique numbers that will identify us to our bank. A couple of decades ago, when PINs hit the world of banking, customers thought they were really clever to create a four-digit PIN using the first four numbers of their ID numbers. Short, and easy to remember! But as banking got more sophisticated, so did theft, and short, predictable PINs nowadays are an open invitation for someone else to access your account!
When using electronic banking of any form (ATM, Internet, cellphone or telephone) ensure your security with the following password tips:
- When creating your PIN, do not use your phone number, date of birth, your street or P.O. Box number, or the digits from your bank card.
- Most banks offer between six- to twelve-digit PIN facilities. Don't limit yourself to six digits. Rather, opt for a longer PIN – eight to ten characters are ideal.
- For Internet banking you'll be using a keyboard, so you can use a variety of letters, numbers and symbols to create a PIN, e.g. I812*mt@W. (How will you possibly remember such a long and diverse password? Get creative. Make up a password that is based on an easy-to-remember sentence. Our example here is from the sentence "I ate twelve star mint truffles at work".)
- Never give your PIN to anyone, even a bank employee.
- Do not write down your PIN. Rather commit it to memory.
- Don't use the same PIN for all your banking applications.
- Change your PIN frequently.
- And finally, if you feel your PIN has been compromised in any way, notify your bank and change it immediately.
Click here for previous issues of Money Matters. |
