Due to the unique nature of Internet transactions, we have additional policies and procedures in place to protect your personal and financial information on the Internet.
Email and Email Addresses
We collect your email address when you provide it to us in an online product application or when you sign up for "M&T Mail." M&T will never sell your email address. We will only use your address to communicate with you regarding the servicing of your accounts or to make you aware of products and services that may be of interest to you.
When you send M&T an email, we may retain your message and our response for quality assurance purposes. It is important to remember that regular (non-encrypted) email is not secure. If you are sending us any personal or account information, please only do so through our secure email function within M&T Web Banking. To find the secure email service, sign on to M&T Web Banking, select the "Customer Service" tab and then choose the "Contact Us" option.
Online Applications and Referral Forms
We collect information from you when you fill out an online application for a new product or service (loans, etc). All online applications are encrypted to maintain the security of your information.
Online Surveys
We may use the information you provide on surveys and for promotions on our web site for marketing purposes, including development of web site content and services you may find helpful. In addition, we may attempt to make you aware of products and services from M&T based on the information you provide to us.
Planning Tools and Calculators
Information that you input on the web site while using any of our planning tools and calculators is not captured, stored or used in any way other than to provide you with the information you're looking for at the time you use the tool or calculator. These calculators were built only for the purpose of helping you understand your financial options, enabling you to explore various scenarios and "what if" calculations for items like loan payments, retirement and education planning.
Children's Information
We recognize the importance of protecting the privacy of children online, and we comply with the requirements of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act that are applicable to us. We do not collect personal information from consumers under the age of thirteen.
"Cookies"
In some instances, M&T may use Internet "cookies" to help us establish your identity when you visit our web site. A "cookie" is a small text file placed on your hard drive by our web page server. This technology is only used to improve your experience on our web site by sending you more personalized information and product offers. We do not use cookies to get data from your hard drive or to get your email address or any other personal information.
Working with Other Companies
From time to time, M&T may establish a relationship with other partners on the Internet to provide you with additional value and new products we may not offer ourselves. In these circumstances, we will treat information you provide us in the same manner described in our M&T Consumer Information Policy. M&T offers access to other sites either through the use of hyperlinks or through "co-branded" sites in which both M&T and the other company share the same URL, domain name or pages within a domain name on the Internet. In some cases, the other site will also collect information from you. Please review the privacy policies of these third parties prior to providing any information to them when you link to their web site.
Security on the Web
We protect information you provide us online in several ways. We use encryption standards and SSL (Secure Socket Layer) technology to help ensure that information passes to M&T without being intercepted by third parties. User IDs and Passcodes are used to help safeguard access to your information through the web or ATM. As always, we strongly encourage you to assist us in that effort by not sharing your M&T Web Banking User ID and Passcode with anyone.
Consolidation (Aggregation) Web Sites
Please use caution when using consolidation sites. Consolidation sites are Internet sites that offer the ability to access all of your personal information on one web site. In some cases, you may be encouraged to provide a consolidation site with your personal financial information, such as your User ID and bank PIN for M&T Web Banking. NEVER PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION TO A SITE THAT YOU DO NOT RECOGNIZE AND FULLY TRUST. All transactions initiated by a consolidation site using access information you provide are considered to be authorized by you, whether or not you were aware of the specific transaction.
