Question & Answer

Question: A banker in Florida asked if there is any law that requires an inststution to have a time clock to record the time in and time out of customers when they enter their safe deposit boxes. Is it okay to record this information by hand?

Answer: The correct method to record and document the time and date of a customer's safe deposit access is not covered by any state regulation. Some states do have laws requiring that proper access procedures and accurate records be maintained.

The date and time "machine solution" is strongly recommended over manually hand-writing this information on your access records. This mechanical method is more accurate and acceptable in a court of law if the customer's "time and date" of access is being questioned.

Example: What would happen if you asked every employee in your financial institution for the correct time and date? You will probably receive numerous incorrect answers. These responses may be what are now being recorded on your customer's access forms. Not having an accurate record-keeping system could possibly lose a substantial safe deposit disappearance claim.

Note: Thanks to Dave McGuinn from Safe Deposit Specialists for his assistance to this response.

Copyright © 1992 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 3, No. 1, 5/92