Good news for all Postbank customers who use online banking: with immediate effect, all customers can use the mTAN (mobile transaction number) function for free. The charge of 6 cent per requested mTAN has been eliminated. This is because Postbank is including this mobile service in its free checking account package. “This step underlines Postbank’s innovative thinking in retail banking,” commented Dr. Michael Meyer, who is responsible for Postbank’s retail banking. Dr. Meyer added, “the free mTAN is a prime example of simple and secure solutions that benefit every customer.”

mTAN’s appeal of security and flexibility
The mTAN is not only distinguished by its high level of flexibility but more so thanks to the highest level of protection from fraud. Since 2006, Postbank has been given – each year – the TÜV Rheinland Gütesiegel (seal of approval from the Rhineland TÜV) for its model security in online banking. This is due to the fact that the online banking mTAN is only created and sent to the customer's cellular phone by SMS once the payment instruction has been cleared. This means that the mTAN is only valid for the instruction in hand and is also only valid for a few minutes for security reasons. In addition, the SMS sent by Postbank also provides the receiving account number and the amount transferred. This allows the customer to check that the instruction has been received correctly by Postbank before it is released. 
 
A further significant factor is the mTAN flexibility. Thanks to the cellular phone, the customer is no longer tied to a TAN list. If the customer is traveling, for example, and the TAN list is at home in a safe, it is possible to release payment instructions using the mTAN process and the cellular phone at any given time and from anywhere in the world.

Postbank pioneered the introduction of the mTAN for the first time in 2003 as part of its “Postbank direkt” customer portal. Since then, more than 100,000 customers have come to use the service. It is part of the extensive security package that Postbank has created over the years in its fight against online fraud.

A photo can be found   here (ca. 2,34 MB) .