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Safety and Security

The security of our customers' money remains an important priority as does the safety of our people in the workplace.

  1. Overview
  2. Global Citizenship
  3. Fair Banking
  4. Supporting Enterprise
  5. Employee Engagement
  6. Safety and Security

Protecting customers

Online data protection for our customers was a key area of focus in 2009 – some 21 million people bank online in the UK alone, approximately 5 million with RBS and NatWest.

The Group launched Rapport in 2009, a fraud prevention software package that customers can download free of charge. Rapport provides customers with enhanced online security to protect them from Trojan and phishing attacks.

Data security

Following the general rise in eCrime throughout the industry and specifically the WorldPay breach of security in late 2008 which exposed customer information, two Group-wide programmes have been launched:

  • A review of the security of the Group’s externally facing websites in relation to specific vulnerabilities was completed during 2009
  • Testing of Group websites for key known technical vulnerabilities will be completed in 2010.

Promoting safer banking

A ‘Safer Banking’ brochure was provided for customers in 2009 and was distributed in branches throughout the UK, outlining the possible risks of financial crime as well as fraud prevention tactics.

In order to enhance the service provided for customers with regard to credit cards, we have upgraded our SMS alert function. The customer now receives an SMS alert if there has been a suspicious transaction on their credit card.

Physical security

ATM and branch security measures are the subject of continuous review and risk assessment. The Group has invested over £2 million to protect the physical security of our branch and cash machine networks. This includes the deployment of anti-skimming devices to 4,000 of our ATMs across the UK and at our most high risk ATMs in the US. Citizens now also have 100% digital technology with regards to CCTV and have installed additional secure entry systems to deter robberies in branches.

Safety, health and wellbeing of employees

Ensuring the safety, health and wellbeing of employees is core to our business, and a fundamental social responsibility of the Group.

In 2009:

  • The Group’s Safety and Health policy standard was updated to reflect our commitment to the safety and health of our people in every country we operate in.
  • The wellbeing programme focused on providing support to employees given the impact of both internal and external changes
  • Support packs were produced in partnership with Lifematters to help line managers and employees during the organisational change programme
  • Reportable accidents for employees fell from 184 in 2008 to 164 in 2009, achieving an overall reduction of 11%
  • Total incidents decreased by 0.5% from 2,394 in 2008 to 2,382 in 2009
  • The overall Group absence rate decreased from 3.05% to 2.9%

Read the 2009 Safety, Health and Wellbeing Report (pdf - 333Kb) to learn more about how we protect our people.

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