Internet Changes Everything

Personalizing Online Data Raises Privacy Concerns

June 15, 1998

Personalizing Online Data Raises Privacy Concerns
As the technology matures, companies mull user reactions
By Gregory Dalton
inancial services firms see technology for creating customized content on the Web as a way to get closer to customers. But those firms are proceeding cautiously due to concerns about privacy.
Next week, the Bank of Montreal will introduce a redesigned Web site using the ME! Relationship System from Bowne & Co. Inc. that willoffer customized Web sites for clients who fill out a brief profile.Colin Henderson, senior marketing manager at mbanx, a division of the Bank of Montreal, says technology exists to do more aggressive "personalization," but it is "so new that we don't want to get ahead of our customers."
Personalization technology typically relies on demographic data voluntarily entered by online customers or gleaned by monitoring browsing and buying patterns. Both types of data are stored in databases and used to create Web pages catering to specific interests. Bowne's product, for instance, dynamically generates Web pages based on user profiles. Last week, Bowne moved further into the data collection business by purchasing Open Sesame, which develops technology for monitoring user behavior.
Quick & Reilly, a discount brokerage, plans later this year to offer online customers the option of having personalized pages that change dynamically according to what type of investments they make on the company's Web site. Quick & Reilly will probably seek customers' prior consent before personalizing investment data. "We may wish to give customers veto power over changing things around," says Charles Salmans, VP of corporate communications. Quick & Reilly won't comment on the particular technology it plans to implement.
One of the most aggressive products in this area is Client Monitoring 1.0, an add-on tool for Web sites from Reality Online, a subsidiary of Reuters Ltd. It lets brokers view which stock quotes or news stories clients have accessed on the brokerage's Web site, so the broker can recommend investments in those areas.
Officials at Fleet Financial Services believe that personalization is promising in the long term. But they're not convinced it represents the best use of the company's marketing resources right now, mainly because only 3% of customers are online. The firm is also wary of seeming to snoop online. Says Blaise Heltai, director of online financial services: "Because of privacy concerns, I doubt we would implement [monitoring] technology."

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