New U-Shield by Provident Bank App Offers Increased Security And Personal Financial Control

Provident Bank continues its efforts to increase digital security, and its commitment to its customers with the launch of U-Shield by Provident Bank – a mobile security and card control application that offers peace of mind for and secured protection for its consumer and business customers. 

Provident Bank, which serves both New Jersey and Pennsylvania, is the first community bank to offer mobile card services that give consumers and businesses control of their payment cards in a central mobile application. U-Shield by Provident Bank is now available on iPhone® (minimum requirement is iOS 8.0 and newer) and Android^TM (Minimum requirements for U-Shield is Android 4.4 [KitKat] and newer).

“More than 100 million payment cards have fallen victim to hackers recently, of which impacted one in five Americans – both average consumers and business owners. This is an alarming statistic,” says Michael Raimonde, EVP, Retail Banking Director, Provident Bank. “We understand our customers’ concerns about fraud, identity theft, and other criminal activities, which is why advancements in our technology and security efforts are at the top our priority list.”

As trends in mobile banking continue to rise, so does the risk “comprised” payment cards. U-Shield by Provident Bank provides customers with the ability to remotely manage all aspects of their existing payment cards via a number of functions, including: 

• Switch Card On/Off: Switches card on/off with a single touch; which eliminates fear of misplacing. 
• Control By Location: Location controls ensure that a card works where you are and blocks where you are not. CardAlerts notifies of all transactions on the go. 
• Control Preferences: Ability to set merchant categories, transaction types and spend limits according to behavior; offers protection against anyone else going on a shopping spree. 
• Instant Transaction Alerts: Ability to act instantly to real-time transaction alerts and offers.
• Self Service: Analyze spending and manage transactions – tag, annotate, and capture transaction details. 

This latest advancement comes on the heels of the Bank’s recent shift to a .Bank domain, which provides a more secure online location for the bank, its customers and its stakeholders, as well as additional protection against spoofed or phishing emails and sites. Provident Bank was one of the first banks to launch a .Bank website address – the url extensions are available exclusively to banks and financial institutions and require a rigorous set of qualifications to obtain.

For more information about U-Shield by Provident Bank, visit https://www.provident.bank/digital-banking/u-shield. For more information about Provident Bank, visit www.provident.bank or join the conversations on Facebook (ProvidentBank) and Twitter (@ProvidentBank). 

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About Provident Bank

Provident Bank, (www.provident.bank) a community-oriented bank offering “Commitment you can count on” since 1839, is the wholly owned subsidiary of Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS), which reported assets of $9.50 billion as of December 31, 2016. With $6.55 billion in deposits, Provident Bank provides a comprehensive suite of financial products and services through its network of branches throughout northern and central New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. The Bank also provides fiduciary and wealth management services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Beacon Trust Company.