Online Banking Archives - SRI Federal Credit Union

Your Complete Guide to Secure Mobile Banking

In response to the rise of mobile banking scams, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently published new guidance on unauthorized electronic funds transfers or EFTs. With more people using electronic banking as a holdover from pandemic times, it’s important for consumers to be aware of its vulnerabilities and how to protect themselves from scams. Here’s what you need to know about the risks of mobile banking and how to stay safe.

What are the risks of mobile banking?

Banking through your mobile device is quick, convenient and efficient. There’s no longer a need to stop by the credit union on your way home from work to deposit checks, make a transfer or review your recent account history. Most banks and credit unions now allow you to do all that and more at any time, and from anywhere, using your phone and a mobile banking app.

Unfortunately, though, like all transactions that take place over the internet, mobile banking has some inherent risks. First, hackers can break into a phone and an account to steal money and information. Also, phishing scams that target people over the phone can trick them into sharing login information with scammers who may then hack into the account. Finally, bogus emails and messages appearing to be from your credit union can lead you to unknowingly install malware on your device.

Mobile banking scams can be difficult to spot and are frighteningly prevalent. In fact, according to a report by data science company Feedzai, the first quarter of 2021 saw a 159% increase in banking scams over the last quarter of 2020. This is likely due to the fact that the volume of banking transactions are returning to their pre-pandemic norm and many of them are happening online.

How to bank safely online

Instances of online fraud may be mounting, but that doesn’t mean you need to give up the convenience of mobile banking. Follow these protocols for online safety and bank with high confidence:

Use a VPN to hide your IP address. A VPN (virtual private network) will give you a private network, even when you’re using public Wi-Fi, thus preventing scammers from tracking and hacking your mobile device. It’s important to note that some VPNs can work so well that your own credit union won’t recognize you, so be sure to choose one that provides each user with a designated proxy IP. This enables select accounts to recognize the user while providing protection from hackers.
Always choose multi-factor authentication. Most money apps will require this, but if your chosen app allows you to make this choice, be sure to say yes to multi-factor authentication.
Never share your password or save it to your device. All of your passwords should be confidential, but the password you choose for an online banking app must be top secret. Don’t share your password with anyone. Follow suggested guidelines for choosing a strong password, including alternating between uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols; and choosing a unique password you don’t use elsewhere. Also, choose a security question that cannot be answered by searching through the personal information you post on your social media platforms.
Brush up on your knowledge of scams. It’s important to keep yourself updated on the latest banking scams and to know how to recognize a scam if you’re targeted. Never answer a text or email that asks for your account details, even if it appears to be from your credit union. Remember that Legitimate companies will never ask you to purchase gift cards as means of payment. Finally, always be wary of unsolicited phone calls and banking alerts.
Protect your phone. With the wealth of sensitive information it holds, a smartphone should be protected just like a desktop and laptop computer. Consider installing an antivirus app on your phone as well as a location-tracking app so you can find your phone if it gets lost. Be sure to lock your phone after using it, log out of the mobile banking app when you are done and always keep your phone in a safe place.

Mobile banking scams are on the rise, but by simply following the tips shared above, you can use your phone to bank with confidence, knowing your money and your information are safe.

Interested in downloading or finding out more about our secured mobile app, click here.

Posted in Hello World, Online Banking

Digital wallets: What are they and how do they work

Seeing people pay with their cellphones or watches has become the new normal. The days of printing out your boarding pass before you check into your flight are now in the past. Digital wallets are a new way to stay organized and safe.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, digital payment adoption has seen a large increase. Because of its contactless nature, digital wallets have become popular with the number of cashless businesses in the U.S.

What is a digital wallet?

Digital wallets are a digital version of your financial accounts made easily accessible via computer, smartphone or smart device. In other words, this can eliminate the need to carry around your actual wallet and gives you a contingency plan in case you forget your actual wallet.

Currently, ApplePay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay are three of the most popular digital wallets.

How digital wallets work

Before you get started with a digital wallet, you want to figure out which one you want to use. The device you use will normally dictate which digital wallet you go for. As an example, if you’re an iPhone or Apple Watch user then you’ll probably want to use ApplePay but if you’re an Android user you’ll want to use Google Pay or Samsung Pay.

Click here for instructions on how to add your SRIFCU Visa-branded credit or debit card to the digital wallet of your choice.

In order to make a contactless mobile payment, you simply have to authorize the digital wallet and hold it close enough to the card reader so that your information can be transmitted. Not all retailers accept mobile payments, but you can easily look for the contactless payment indicator on the retailer’s point-of-sale (POS) system or card reader. This symbol looks like a sideways WiFi icon.

What else can digital wallets do?

Digital wallets don’t only make paying for items quick and easy, they also help keep other important documents organized and easily accessible.

Here is a short list of items you can store in a digital wallet to stay organized:

Credit or debit cards
Boarding passes
Hotel reservations
Airbnb reservations
Concert tickets
Gift cards
Coupons
Loyalty rewards cards
Insurance cards

Are digital wallets safe?

A common concern is over safety and security. What happens if your phone gets stolen? Can hackers easily steal your information?

No — digital wallets are actually more secure than your physical cards.

This because mobile payments are heavily encrypted and tokenized, in other words, none of your actual card or account numbers are stored within the digital wallet.

How does that work?

When you add your information to a digital wallet, that information is then converted into a unique code via encryption that can only be accessed by authorized entities. Digital wallets go a step further by also adding in tokenization, which takes that sensitive encrypted data and replaces it with a non-sensitive digital equivalent known as a token. These unique tokens are randomly generated every time a user makes a payment and only the merchant can match this token to accept the payment.

Ultimately, your information is useless and unreadable to fraudsters when encryption and tokenization are used together.

Not only is your information more secure thanks to that technology, but also through user verification. This added layer of security is usually done by fingerprint, facial recognition or PIN.

Bottom line

Digital wallets offer an easy, quick and safe solution for virtual payments, tickets, gift cards and more. While this doesn’t mean you should leave your physical wallet at home, digital wallets and contactless payments will likely see an increase in adoption by U.S. consumers and merchants in the not so distant future.

Posted in Hello World, Online Banking

We Are Here To Help

Amid ongoing concerns about the Coronavirus COVID-19, we want to reach out and share a few of the ways we are here to serve you during this time:

If you’ve been impacted by COVID-19 and need our support, we’re here to help. Send a message through online banking, contact us or call us at 1-800-9863669 to talk to one of our staff members for assistance. They will be happy to go over all your available options, such as Emergency loans, credit line increases, Special Student Loan Forbearance and Skip-A-Payments.

Special Schedule & Information

Due to the current state of “shelter in place” in the San Francisco Bay Area.

March 16, 2020 – April 6, 2020, the Credit Union Lobby will have limited access

SRI Federal Credit Union Annual meeting has also been officially postponed

Posted in Events, Hello World, Online Banking

New Online Banking Update!

The new online banking update has been rolled out! Upon first sign-on, you’ll notice we now require a “One-Time Passcode” to access your account. Although the application looks the same, there are some new functions and enhanced security features.

Posted in Hello World, Online Banking

Beta testers wanted.

Whether you are new to SRIFCU or a long-time member, we are looking for those who are passionate about improving the SRI Federal Credit Union online banking experience. With an online banking upgrade rolling out in late summer, we are looking for beta testers to help us shape the user experience.

Posted in Hello World, Online Banking

New Online Banking

The credit union has a new Online Banking provider. This will allow members more choices of how to transfer money. The new system will require you to go through a validation process including setting up a new username and password. We have had some reports of members having trouble with the validation process. Please stick with us – once all the kinks get worked out you will love the new system.

Type of Electronic Deposit	Product Name on Online banking	Deposit time frame
Member to Member (M2M)	Member to Member	Real time
Person to Person (P2P)	Pay Someone	Next business day
Account to Account (A2A)*	External Transfer	2-3 business days
Bill Payment**	Bill Pay	Up to 7 business days

Posted in Hello World, Online Banking

New Website Debut

On April 17th our new website goes live! That’s right, this isn’t a late April Fool’s joke. Our staff has worked long and hard to bring you a new and improved website.

Posted in Hello World, Online Banking

October 2016

There have been a lot of changes behind the scenes at the credit union recently. We have a new chip card machine that instant-issues cards (debit and credit) in our office. Chip cards are also known as EMV (Europay/MasterCard/Visa) cards. They reduce fraud by creating a one-time passcode for every transaction and will also improve acceptance of cards in the United States and abroad.

Electronic Deposit Time Frames