Electronic security for banks: branches, ATMs and vaults.
Burglar alarm, cameras at the points the regulation calls for, access control by area and optional 24/7 monitoring. ADVSYSA supplies and installs; monitoring is provided by AMS from the ATG Group monitoring center, under a separate contract.
What a branch has to solve, in plain words
A bank is not an office with cameras: it handles cash, it has areas not just anyone can enter, and it is asked for records of everything. These are the points we review first.
See the six risks of a branch
Robbery during business hours
Teller windows, drive-through and main door. Fixed and teller panic buttons, and cameras that leave a record of what happened.
Intrusion after hours
Vault, treasury and technical rooms with their own alarm partition and motion, vibration and smoke sensors, so a signal from the vault is not confused with one from the lobby.
Signal jammers (jamming)
A jammer can silence an alarm that depends only on the cellular network. That is why it makes sense to communicate over the network and over cellular at the same time, and to add an interference detector: DMP, the manufacturer, offers one called JamAlert.
False alarms
Every false call-out costs your staff and the security agency time. They are reduced with well-placed sensors, partitions by area and a clear protocol for who gets called first; the cameras help review what happened afterward.
ATMs
A camera that captures the person without recording the keypad where they enter their PIN, a monitored alarm and recordings kept for the period the regulation requires, also at ATMs outside the branch. The lighting of the ATM is defined by the bank.
Access and audit
Who entered which area and when. Credentials by position and by schedule, a restricted teller area and a log of entries and exits that is useful when audit asks for it.
From the branch visit to a documented handover
At a bank, several people decide. We work with all of them from the start so the proposal arrives complete and does not have to be redone.
See how we assess, step by step
Who takes part
The bank’s security officer (Agreement 1-2007 requires one, point 3.1), risk or compliance, branch operations and IT for the network. With them we define zones, access and who gets called.
Visit to each branch
We walk through the teller windows, vault, ATMs, drive-through and parking. We note blind spots, lighting, doors, power outlets and which network and cellular links are available.
Design by partitions
Alarm by area, cameras at the points the regulation calls for and access by position. The proposal is itemized (equipment and installation, monthly monitoring and maintenance) so whoever is responsible can approve it.
Testing and handover
We test every zone (with the monitoring center, if you contract monitoring) and hand over the test documentation. We put in writing the response plan we agree on with the bank. If the proposal includes it, we explain the system to the staff who will operate it.
DMP alarm + cameras + access control + monitoring
Each part has a clear owner. ADVSYSA supplies and installs; monitoring, if you contract it, is operated by the ATG Group monitoring center; each device comes with its manufacturer’s warranty.
Intrusion alarm (DMP)
See details of Intrusion alarm (DMP)
According to DMP, the manufacturer, its XR Series panels allow several partitions per branch and communicate over IP networks and cellular, and its JamAlert interference detector connects as a zone to DMP panels and to panels of other brands. See the DMP page.
See alarms with monitoring →Cameras (CCTV)
See details of Cameras (CCTV)
At entrances, teller windows, the vault door and interior, and ATMs. Recordings are kept for the period the regulation requires, and who may view the images is defined with the bank’s security officer.
See video surveillance →Access control
See details of Access control
Restricted teller area, vault, treasury and server room with credentials by position and by schedule, and a log of entries and exits of employees, suppliers and visitors.
See access control →24/7 monitoring
See details of 24/7 monitoring
The ATG Group monitoring center, operated by AMS, receives the signal, verifies it and contacts whoever your bank has defined, in the agreed order. It does not dispatch the police or the fire department on its own, and it does not promise an arrival time.
How our monitoring center responds →Fire detection
See details of Fire detection
Detection and alarm with a scope of its own, kept separate and defined during the visit together with the bank’s responsible engineer: for example the vault, technical rooms or the data center. It does not replace the building’s fire system, and it does not promise to meet a standard on its own.
See fire detection and alarm →Structured cabling
See details of Structured cabling
Conduits and network for cameras, readers and panels, separate from the bank’s network if IT asks for it.
See structured cabling →What it covers, what we need from your bank and what it does not cover
Better to know before the quote than after the installation.
See what it covers, what we need and what it does not cover
What it covers
- Design for each branch, with the location of every device on drawings.
- Supply and installation of alarm, cameras, readers and cabling, according to the items you contract.
- Programming of partitions, users and schedules.
- Testing of every zone, with the monitoring center if you contract it, and handover of the test documentation.
- An explanation for the staff who operate the system, if it is an item in the proposal.
- Each manufacturer’s warranty, under the conditions that manufacturer sets.
What we need from your bank
- A responsible person who approves zones, access and the response plan.
- Drawings or a walk-through of each branch.
- An IP network link and a cellular line (SIM) so the alarm communicates over two paths.
- Power and backup at the indicated points.
- Access to the restricted areas during installation, escorted by bank staff.
- Who gets called, and in what order, for each type of signal.
What it does not cover
- Security guards and cash-in-transit services.
- Civil works for vaults and safes, or their certification.
- Lighting of ATMs, parking areas and entrances.
- Insurance.
- The response of the police or the fire department, or arrival times: the center contacts whoever your bank defines.
- Verifying that your bank complies with the Agreement: your bank does that with the Superintendency.
Each line item and its limits go in writing in the proposal; anything that is not there is not included.
What the Superintendency of Banks requires for physical security
A summary of what concerns our work, with the number of each point so you can check it in the official text.
See what the Superintendency of Banks requires
Agreement No. 1-2007 of the Superintendency of Banks of Panama
«Normas Mínimas de Seguridad para las Entidades Bancarias» (Minimum Security Standards for Banking Entities), November 21, 2007. It applies to state-owned banks and to banks with a general or an international license (article 1). The numbers in parentheses are the points of article 2. The Superintendency’s compiled text marks a single amendment, that of point 7.10 by Agreement 1-2012; check superbancos.gob.pa for later amendments. Compiled text (PDF, in Spanish) ↗ · Agreement 1-2012 (PDF, in Spanish) ↗
- Burglar and fire alarm with a monitoring center. Every establishment must have a burglar and fire alarm linked to a monitoring center, and the center must communicate with the police or private security agencies and with the fire department (5.1). For burglary, the system must have the rating for banks under international standards (5.2); the rating of each device is confirmed by its manufacturer. Alarms are checked periodically (5.3), and at least once a year a test exercise is carried out and recorded (5.4). Point 5.5 asks that the alarms and the other connected devices be able to capture, record and transmit, in real time and simultaneously, the alarm signals and the scenes of the event.
- Cameras. Fixed cameras that properly cover the public and staff entrances, the customer teller windows, the main vault door, the interior of the vault and the ATMs (6.2). They are tested every month and logged (6.1), and the bank must keep an archive of recordings of at least three months (6.3). Point 6.1 also details minimum specifications for the imaging and recording equipment.
- ATMs. Cameras placed to get a clear image of whoever enters, while avoiding recording the PIN entry (7.1.2.1); a monitored alarm (7.1.2.3); lighting that lets people at the door be seen, and vice versa, and that lets the cameras work (7.3); regular inspections to detect foreign objects and tampered cameras (7.4); and an archive of recordings of at least twelve months (7.10, a point amended by Agreement 1-2012). For ATMs in commercial premises, the bank must ensure devices and procedures that identify the user and their transactions, and the recording of images (Paragraph of point 7).
- Vaults. Smoke, motion and vibration sensors, plus panic buttons and communication systems placed strategically (4.3), with cameras inside and outside (4.4).
- Access. Access controls for the establishment (1.4), a restricted-access teller area (1.7), and devices and procedures to control the entry and exit of employees (2.10) and of customers, suppliers and others (2.11).
- Organization. A Bank Security Officer who directs or coordinates the security program (3.1), security and protection manuals and policies (point 2), and contingency and continuity plans whose effectiveness is reviewed and tested at least once a year, with a written record (2.13).
Law 81 of 2019, personal data protection
Gaceta Oficial (Official Gazette) 28743-A. The law defines personal data as «cualquier información concerniente a personas naturales, que las identifica o las hace identificables» (any information about natural persons that identifies them or makes them identifiable) (article 4, item 9). A recording in which a person can be recognized may fit that definition, so it makes sense to set who views the recordings, how long they are kept and how they are handed over to an authority. We help you set that up in the system. Text on Legispan (PDF, in Spanish) ↗ · How we handle data on this site
This is a guide, not legal advice. It summarizes only what concerns our work, not the whole Agreement, and the Agreement itself says its measures are minimums (point 1.2). We help you prepare the technical part and the test documentation for your file; verifying compliance is up to your bank, with the Superintendency.
What people ask us before a quote
Does it integrate with the alarm and cameras the bank already has?
When the existing equipment allows it, yes, and we confirm it during the visit. According to DMP, its JamAlert interference detector is added as a zone to DMP panels and to panels of other brands. Whatever cannot be integrated, we tell you before we quote.
What happens if the branch loses power or internet?
According to DMP, its panels keep working on backup batteries and communicate over IP networks and cellular, so if one path goes down the other remains. How long the battery lasts depends on the equipment and is calculated for each branch. What the center does if it stops receiving signals from a branch is agreed in the protocol.
Who responds when an alarm goes off?
The center follows the protocol your bank defines: who gets called and in what order (your staff, your security agency, the police or others). We do not dispatch the police on our own or promise an arrival time, because it does not depend on us.
See more questions
Can it be done across several branches?
Yes. The design starts from one standard for all of them, and the proposal is put together branch by branch, so you can approve it in stages. According to DMP, its ENTRE platform lets you manage the access credentials of several branches from headquarters.
How much does it cost?
It depends on the number of branches, zones and cameras, and on whether monitoring is included. The proposal is itemized (equipment and installation, monthly monitoring fee and maintenance), with what is included and what is not. Ask us for a proposal for your network.
What warranty does the system have?
Each device comes with its manufacturer’s warranty, under the conditions that manufacturer sets. Ask us about the warranty of each device in your proposal.
Tell us about your bank
How many branches you have and what worries you is enough to start. An advisor will contact you through the channel you leave, and we will set up the visit.