Bank of Scotland Secure - terms of use

Bank of Scotland Secure provides you with extra security for your online transactions.

It is not designed to verify the quality or fitness for purpose of websites or the goods or services ordered. As always, customers need to satisfy themselves that they are dealing with reputable retailers. Please read these conditions carefully before deciding whether to accept them. These should be read in conjunction with any other terms and conditions specific to your Account.

Bank of Scotland Secure conditions of use:

1. Definitions

Account means any account you hold on which a Bank of Scotland credit or debit card has been issued.

Identity Details means the personal information which we use to verify that you are the holder of a Bank of Scotland Account.

Security Credentials means card information, memorable information or other information we use to check your identify.

We, us and our means Bank of Scotland.

You, your and yours means the person who has entered into this agreement with us.

2. Using Bank of Scotland Secure

When you use Bank of Scotland Secure, both these conditions and your Account conditions will apply. If they contradict each other, the relevant condition in your Account conditions will apply.

All Bank of Scotland Card accounts participate in this service. It is not a requirement to register for the service prior to using your card online. The service will assess each transaction and will only be invoked in situations where authentication is required due to the assessed risk of the transaction.

When making a purchase online and authentication is required, you will see a pop up in a new window. You will then be asked to complete some security questions to authenticate your identity. When you have successfully completed the security questions your purchase will be processed.

In a small percentage of high risk transactions the authentication process may not be invoked and the authentication request may be denied. Should this occur contact numbers to our Fraud Contact Centre will be provided to allow genuine transactions to proceed.

Some software may not allow pop-ups. If you have this software installed you must disable it or change the settings to allow pop-ups for Bank of Scotland.

3. Security

a) We will collect certain personal information from you for verification and security purposes (including your Identity Details), which we will pass on to EMC Computer Systems (UK) Ltd or EMC Information Systems International for Ireland who is carrying out this service on our behalf.

b) Your personal information will not be shared with any online retailer when carrying out an online transaction and will only be used in the ways described in our Privacy Policy.

c) You are responsible for keeping your Security Credentials secret. You must not write down, store (whether encrypted or otherwise) on your computer, mobile phone handset or on paper or let anyone else know or use your Security Credentials.

d) If you think that someone else knows your Security Credentials or has used them to use Bank of Scotland Secure you must notify us immediately by calling the helpdesk telephone number on the back of the card you use with your Account. You should check statements we send you and let us know urgently about any errors.

e) We may give the police or any prosecuting authority any information they need if we think it will help them find out if someone else is using your Security Credentials.

f) We may keep any e-mails sent to or from us. We do this to check what was written and also to help train our staff.

For further details about how we use your personal information please see your Bank of Scotland terms and conditions specific to your Account.

4. Notices

We may change these conditions for any reason by sending written notice to any address you provide us (including your e-mail address) or by publishing the change on our web site. If you change your address (including your e-mail address) you must notify us immediately to ensure that our records are up to date.

Bank of Scotland Secure may be amended or terminated, either temporarily or permanently, without notice where the amendment or termination has been required by Visa International Services Association or Mastercard® International which runs the payment systems for the cards used with your Account.

5. Your liability

Unless you are a victim of fraud, you are responsible for all instructions sent using your Security Credentials and we are entitled to assume we are dealing with you and will:

  • act on (and you will be bound by) all instructions;
  • allow access to confidential information we hold about you and your accounts, without getting further confirmation from you.

By using this service you will not acquire any ownership rights, title or interest in or to the software made available to you.

You must not:

  • do anything which may damage, interfere with or disrupt the software or the way it is provided; or
  • display, alter or use any trademarks without the owner's prior written permission.

6. Ending your use of service

We may end the service immediately if you close your Account/s or you no longer have any cards registered for the service or, by telling you personally and giving you 30 days notice.

We may also suspend or end the service immediately or decline to follow an instruction if we think;

  • there is a breach of security or we are uncertain whether an instruction is valid (but, please note, we are not bound to check whether an instruction is valid);
  • you have broken an agreement you have with us;
  • you are not eligible for an Account or service;
  • we reasonably think you or someone else is using or has obtained, or may use or obtain, the service illegally, fraudulently or improperly;
  • there is a legal requirement or a court or other authority tells us to act in that way.

If we do take action, we will act in a manner we reasonably think is proportionate in the circumstances and will tell you before doing so, if we can reasonably do so.

7. General information

You can usually use the service at any time but repairs, updates and routine maintenance to our systems and those of our suppliers mean the service may be slow or unavailable from time to time. We will not be liable if the service is unavailable at any time for these reasons.

This service and these conditions are governed by English law. Any disputes arising from this site shall be resolved by the English courts, unless you can show you accessed the site from Scotland in which case the Scottish courts may be used.

Please remember that email is not a completely secure means of communication: it may be possible for others to intercept and read your messages. So if you choose to send us information by email, it is at your own risk.

If you have a question about the Service, please call the number on the back of your card. Calls may be recorded and monitored.

We strongly recommend that you print a copy of these conditions for you to keep.