Placing Speed Bumps on Our E-newsletter

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Question:

Our e-newsletter program is brand new to us. If we provide a link to an external site that is not co-branded with our bank, are we required to have a speed bump? If so, what is the bare minimum we need to say? The reason I am asking is that we have a speed bump in place on our web site and it is quite lengthy. In this instance, if I were to add the speed bump, it actually has more content in it than our e-newsletter. I do receive e-newsletters from other banks and they do not have speed bumps. Since this area is new to us, I want to have policies in effect as we go forward.

Answer:

Speed bumps, notices that you are leaving a site controlled by the bank, are not required in the first place. They are encouraged and they make sense. Generally you want to explain that the person is leaving your site and going to one controlled by someone else and the security and privacy policies may be different there. Ask if the user is sure they want to continue and allow an opt out. "This link will take you from our web site to one not controlled by us. This new site may have a different policy on privacy, cookies, data collection and other user issues. We are not responsible for their content or policies. Are you sure you want to continue?" That is off the top of my head and is a starter, but the content is up to you since it is optional. You can provide the content as succinctly as you want.

Asnwer by Richard Insley: If you want to study how other banks handle their speed bumps, you can find lots of them quickly by searching "member FDIC" + "you are leaving".

First published on BankersOnline.com 1/2/07