Speaker: John Buonopane, Digital Transformation Concierge, Central Murray Bank
John Buonopane: Being a dotbank gives us that definitive presence on the web. It tells those who use our domain exactly who we are and what we do.
What factors impacted your bank's decision to switch to .Bank?
John Buonopane: Hello, my name is John Buonopane. I'm the digital transformation concierge at Central Murray Bank, based in the town of Yarrawonga on the banks of the mighty Murray River in Australia. I'm here to tell you about why we transitioned to a .Bank domain. As we were in the process of changing our identity from a credit union to that of a bank, we thought, why not incorporate that into our domain name. By being a .Bank, it enhanced our identity so that people know exactly what we do, but it also gave us that extra security that is vital in today's world with all the interconnectivity associated with apps and web-based access. Being a .Bank gives us the knowledge that our members are safe and secure from the nasties that target organisations such as ours. As well as technical deep web recognition and marketing opportunities that being a .Bank gives us.
What does the switch to .Bank mean to your bank?
John Buonopane: Being a .Bank gives us that definitive presence on the web. It tells those who use our domain exactly who we are and what we do. It gives us a uniqueness of using the .Bank domain, something new and exciting in the internet world. And of course all that security that .Bank is built upon.
What is your advice to banks considering the switch to .Bank?
John Buonopane: My advice to those considering .Bank is to certainly investigate the possibilities that it gives you. Not just the security side of things, but the marketing opportunities as well. It may be a bit more of an effort to deploy .Bank, as there are some hurdles to jump and hoops to go through, but the end result can be quite beneficial. Ensure that you have a technology partner, including mail and web hosts who understand the implications and are able to accommodate the technical prerequisites, as there are quite a few. Ensure that the registrar is able to host the secure DNS services that .Bank requires. That's an important one that can possibly trip you up. Ask plenty of questions of the .Bank domain administrators. They are quite helpful and most informative. In the end, the decision will be yours, but I certainly recommend .Bank as something to give serious thought to.
