At the end of the previous month, Banka Sparkasse also offered the SMS alert message service to its clients. The fact that another bank decided to activate the said service is a proof tha the SMS alert service is practicall a must nowadays, all cases indicating that it truly enables early detection of abuse and prevention of the possibility of further abuses.

Examples showing the true value of the SMS alert service

Forgot the card at the gas station

On her way to work, my colleague stopped at the gas station, purchased fuel and some items paid, and drove off. She then received and SMS, one hour later, that a purchase in the amount of EUR 112 was made. She checked her wallet and was shocked to find out that she probably forgot the card at the gas station. She called the number written in the SMS and arranged for her card to be cancelled. The SMS alert service enabled early detection of card loss and prevention of any further abuses. Imagine what could happen when my colleague finally found out that she forgot/lost her card, who knows when...

She was on board the aeroplane when she received the SMS alert on card abuse

The journalist of a large Slovene newspaper company whom we could not convince to write an article about this really good and useful new service upon its introduction but who nevertheless decided to activate the service before leaving to Thailand... had a similar experience. While remembering her all too short holiday, she was interrupted by an SMS. The problem was the same as the one described in the previous story only that the amount was much higher. Her card was blocked immediately. When she came home, she called us and asked for some detailed information on this service and then published several articles about the usefulness of the SMS alert service.

Do not hesitate. Visit the bank in which you have your account opened and ask about the options of activating this service.

Banks in Slovenia which providing the SMS alert messages service for their clients

How does SMS alert service work?

If we do not want to receive messages about all transactions (purchase, cash withdrawal on the ATM at home or abroad, card payment via telephone or the Internet), a user may select the criteria (type of card, amount, purchase at home or abroad, etc), based on which they receive an SMS alert message on their mobile phone with the basic data on transaction. In the case of suspicious transaction (i.e. when suspected that the transaction specified in such SMS was not performed by the user themselves) the user has the option to make an emergency call to Bankart's centre or to the bank and demand immediate blocking of the card in order to prevent further abuses of the card.
The SMS alert message is actually a "confirmation" that the payment card transaction was indeed performed by us.

The manners of registration and activation of the SMS alert service of informing about card transactions

The service of informing about card transactions via SMS alert messages can be ordered by the user only for the cards they own. To order the service, the user fills in an application in his bank for the use of the SMS alert messages, specifying the following:

• number of the payment card for which they wish to receive the SMS alert messages,
• number of the mobile phone to which they wish to receive the SMS alert messages,
• criteria for receiving the SMS alert messages.

Conditions of delivery of the SMS alert messages

The basic conditions for the delivery of the SMS alert messages to the user are the following: