Bank customers told of US screening details

BANK customers are due to receive notices warning them that their personal data may be passed to United States authorities screening for terrorists.

The move follows concerns by the Data Protection Commissioner that Irish customers’ details were unknowingly being passed to the US through a money transfer system run byBelgian firm Swift.

Every day Swift carries out 64,000 financial transactions on behalf of mostleading Irish banks. These are open to screening by the CIA and other agencies, following a US court order.