STRATEGIC PARTNERS
Use common sense in preparing for Y2K, federal regulators say.
August 19, 1999
There are precautions that bank customers should take to prepare themselves for Y2K, according to a checklist issued by the FDIC, Federal Reserve, Comptroller of the Currency, National Credit Union Administration and Office of Thrift Supervision: • Keep records of all financial transactions for the last few months of 1999 -- statements, deposit slips, check registers -- and dispose of them only after you've received several statements in 2000. • Review bank statements and credit reports with extra care as the new year approaches, comparing transaction receipts and other documents with information from the statements. • Make contingency plans for making payments. If your neighborhood ATM runs out of cash, are there others that you can use? If you can't get cash, can you pay for groceries and gasoline with a credit card? • If you have more than $100,000 in a bank, savings and loan or credit union, check the rules to make sure that all of your deposits are insured. • Be skeptical of people who might try to sell you products or services to keep your money safe from Y2K. Don't give out your bank account numbers or credit card information to people you don't know -- they could be con artists. • Don't take large amounts of cash out of the bank and make yourself a target for robbers or burglars. • Don't interpret whatever minor problems that may occur as being anything more than minor.
