A secure document destruction policy is particularly important for banks and other financial institutions such as insurance agencies, financial advisors and building societies. Not only are these institutions the cornerstone of the modern economy, they protect client’s livelihoods – providing a safe place to keep their resources and plan for their future.
Banks are subject to various state and federal laws on how long to retain a specified document. Therefore, it is important to establish a document retention policy that allows for the systemic retention and destruction of documents that are received or created by the bank.
Banks amass a large amount of information from their clients. Aside from personal information and contact details, they also collect their client’s financial information such as their tax file numbers, credit card and loan applications.
Here are some of the documents that a bank may collect:
– Copy of each check drawn on or issued by the bank
– Copy of each deposit slip
– Information on wire transfers
– Records of every request to transfer currency or monetary instruments to or from any person, account or place
– Record of account statements for every deposit account
– Specific information related to any extension of credit
Other financial institutions will have similarly sensitive documents about their client’s. For example, an insurance company may collect information about their clients pertaining to their mental and physical health, ethnicity or religious and political affiliations. A financial planner will know your current financial circumstances including your income, expenditure, superannuation, and assets and liabilities.
A secure document destruction policy will help your financial institution stay compliant of the Data Protection Act. This is integral to the functioning and the reputation of your company. The information that you have about your clients can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Identity crime is estimated to cost Australians $2.2 billion dollars every year.
Choose a professional document destruction service to ensure that your documents are destroyed safely.
