Online Banking FAQ

Sound Credit Union understands the importance of securing your personal and financial information. This is why we've been working to implement new security enhancements to help deter fraud and ensure that we are providing you with a very high level of security while you are using online banking. Please note that for your protection, these new features are required, but it will only take a few minutes to walk through the set-up. Please visit our information page and FAQ to find out about these new features or log in to online banking to start using them today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I do if I forgot my password to log in to Online Banking?

For security reasons, we can not issue or change Online Banking passwords over email. If you need to have your password reset or have your account unlocked, please call our Contact Center at 253-383-2016 (toll free 1-800-562-8130) during normal business hours (Mon through Fri 9am - 5:30pm, Saturday 9am - 1pm) and a representative will be happy to assist you.

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Does your site provide security to prevent my account information from being intercepted online?

Yes. We provide secure financial services through a protocol known as the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). The Secure Sockets Layer prevents other computers along the route from eavesdropping by encrypting all data transmitted between our site and your computer. Intermediate computers would see each packet of information as a meaningless jumble of bytes. The sending end encrypts, or encodes, the data with one key before it is transmitted. The receiving end decrypts, or decodes, the data with another key.

Online banking requires the use of 128-bit encryption, the most secure encryption level available in commercial web browsers.

The Secure Sockets Layer validates the identity of our site to you through the use of a digital certificate. After you connect to our site in secure mode, our site sends your browser a signed digital certificate, which contains the name of our Web server, its public encryption key, the certificate's validity dates, the name of the certification authority that issued the digital certificate to our site, and an unforgeable digital signature. The digital certificate authenticates to you that you are indeed connecting to our site.

Our site requires that you use a browser that supports SSL. For more information on SSL and encryption visit the following site: SSL: How It Works.

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When I try to log on to online banking, I get a message that says, "HIGHER GRADE BROWSER ENCRYPTION REQUIRED". What does this mean?

Online banking requires 128-bit encryption. You may be using an older version of Internet Explorer that does not utilize adequate encryption.

To upgrade to the newest version of Internet Explorer, click here.

To upgrade your current version of Internet Explorer to 128-bit encryption, click here.

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What can I do to protect my accounts?

Even though we are making use of technology to keep your data safe as it passes over the Internet, you still play an important role in keeping your account safe. You should memorize your password. Do not write it down. Doing so may reveal it to others. It is a very good idea to change your password often, especially if you access online banking from work. We have made it easy for you to do this. While logged on to online banking, simply click the link in the left hand menu that says, "Change Password".

When selecting an access code, do not use words or codes that are easily traced back to you. Using your birth date, spouse's name, favorite team and so on are all dangerous practices. Also, do not use terms or words that can be seen near your computer. For instance, Intel or Pentium are not good choices. It is best to use a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numbers and/or symbols in your code. When put together in a string, they shouldn't make sense. If you have a hard time remembering codes, think of a short saying or sentence you have memorized and use the first letter of every word. Mix in upper and lower case letters and throw in a number or two. Also, the more characters you have in your password, the harder it is to guess.

There are programs that attempt to run through a series of passwords in hopes of gaining access to systems or accounts out on the Internet or on computer systems and networks in general. We limit the number of consecutive failed attempts to four which will stop these programs in their tracks - especially if you stay away from common words or word combinations.

When you are finished with online banking or if you need to leave the computer, sign off. Our system will sign you off after 10 minutes of inactivity. However, if you sign off every time, you decrease the exposure window.

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How many characters must my password be?

A minimum of 5 characters, maximum of 20. Passwords may consist of alpha, numeric, and symbolic characters. Passwords are also case sensitive. BEACHBALL, beachball, and beachBall are the exact same word however the system treats them as three separate passwords.

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I tried to access my account and I was informed that it is frozen. Why does this happen and what can I do to fix it?

We allow for four failed attempts before our system will freeze your account. Once a successful attempt is made, the counter is set back to zero. This is to prevent password guessing. If you follow proper password choosing procedures, it is highly unlikely that anyone can guess your password in four attempts.  Call the credit union to have your account set back to normal. We will go through a verification process to ensure your identity.

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What are cookies? How does one determine if they are turned on?

A cookie is a small file that is placed on your computer by a website in order to customize your experience. In the case of online banking, the cookie verifies that you are still logged into the site when you click between different menus. online banking uses what is called a "session cookie", which means the cookie deletes itself when you close your web browser. The online banking cookie does not contain any personal information about you.

There are several different ways of determining if cookies are turned on, depending on which browser you are using.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6

  1. Click the "Tools" Menu and select "Internet Options"
  2. In the Options window, click the "Privacy" tab
  3. Set the slider to Medium or Medium-High
  4. Click OK

Mozilla Firefox

  1. Click the "Tools" menu and select "Options"
  2. In the Options window, click the "Privacy" button
  3. Click the + sign next to "Cookies", and make sure the check box for "Allow sites to set cookies" is checked
  4. Click OK

If you use another browser, such as AOL's built in web browser, please use the browsers help feature for instructions on enabling cookies.

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Is there anything special with Macintosh computers as it relates to online banking?

Any current Macintosh web browser that supports SSL and cookies will work with online banking, with the exception of MS Internet Explorer.

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What is a browser?

A browser is an application that enables your computer to visit World Wide Web sites and make sense of them. It can display the graphical as well as textual content on the internet. The most common browsers in use today are Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer.

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What browsers can I use?

Basically, any browser that provides for the handling of the SSL protocol and cookies can be used. We recommend using Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or 7.0 or Mozilla Firefox 2.0 or newer. Also, now is a great time to download the latest version of your browser of choice because most browsers are offered as free downloads. By having a new browser, you can take advantage of the latest technology and security on the Internet.

Online Banking works with the following browsers:

Internet Explorer 8 users: In order for Online Banking to work properly, you may need to enable "Compatibility Mode." You may do this in two ways.
1) View our site in "Compatibility Mode"

  • Click on the Tools Menu
  • Select Compatibility Mode
2) View all sites in "Compatibility Mode"
  • Click on the Tools Menu
  • Select Compatibility View Settings
  • In the "Compatibility View Settings" dialog, tick the check box for Display all websites in Compatibility View option.
  • Click on Close button when done.

Online Banking does NOT work with the following browsers:

  • MSN Browser
  • WebTV
  • MSN WebTV
  • AOL
  • Internet Explorer for Macintosh

Please note that while Online Banking may function on older operating systems, we do not support browsers running on the following operating systems:

  • Windows 95
  • Windows 98
  • Windows ME
  • Windows NT

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How do I know which browser I am using?

If you go to the menu at the very top of your screen (the one starting with File) and click on Help then About (your browser name) a window will appear in the middle of your screen informing you which browser and version you are currently using.

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What are the steps to download transaction history for Quicken or Money?

  1. Once logged in to online banking, click the History link on the left hand menu.
  2. Click "Download History for Quicken/Money".
  3. Select the share or loan ID and transaction date range desired and click Continue.
  4. Select the preferred file type*, then "Continue".
  5. If your software is setup correctly, the file should download and import itself into Quicken/Money automatically.

*If you use Microsoft Money, select "MS Money OFX". If you use Quicken 2005 or later, select "Quicken WebConnect". For earlier versions of Quicken, you should be able to use either the WebConnect format or the "QIF" format. With the QIF file, you will need to download the file and import it manually.

For additional help with your Quicken product, visit their website at http://www.intuit.com/support/.

For Microsoft Money support, visit http://support.microsoft.com/money.

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Can I access online banking directly from Quicken?

At this time, Quicken does not allow you to log in using our MultiFactor authentication system. You must log in from a supported web browser and follow the above instructions to download account history. If you have any questions about how to use Quicken, please contact Intuit customer support.

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Can I connect to online banking from within another network (i.e. from work)?

You may experience difficulty connecting to online banking if you use a computer from within another network, such as a LAN (a computer from work). Security barriers on many networks can prevent connection to secure, encrypted Web sites. Ask your network administrator about possible interference caused by security barriers.

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I have attempted to transfer funds from my Money Market Checking account to my Checking account by accessing the Transfer box and clicking on the "Checking to Savings" box and was advised this was not possible. How can I perform this transfer?

To perform the desired transfer, (Money Market to Checking) click on the "Share to Share" box.

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When I type in my account number, my password is automatically inserted. Why does this happen and how can I prevent it from happening in the future?

This is a feature of Internet Explorer called "autocomplete". It can be turned off easily. Under the tools menu on Internet Explorer, click "Internet Options". Click "Content". In the personal information area, click Autocomplete then uncheck "user names and passwords on forms". Click OK, then OK again.

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What do I do if I see the following after I click on the online banking icon: "Online banking is currently unavailable."

This means that online banking is temporarily unavailable. Most likely we had to take down the system in order to perform some type of regular maintenance. We announce all maintenance tasks that cause online banking to become unavailable to our members.

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What does the following message mean: "This page has expired due to inactivity"?

If you are logged onto your account but do not click on any of the links or perform any transactions for 10 minutes the system will automatically close out your online banking session. When you try to click on a link or perform a transaction after being closed out you will see the message that the page has expired. All you have to do is click on the Restart Session link, reenter your account number and password and you will be back inside online banking.

If you see this message immediately after logging on, you may have "cookies" disabled (see "What are cookies?" above). You may also need to empty your Temporary Internet Files, or "cache". To do this:

  1. Click the Tools menu, and select Internet Options
  2. In the middle of that menu, under the section labeled "Temporary Internet Files", click "Delete Files"
  3. Put a checkmark in the box that says "Delete all offline content"
  4. Click OK
  5. Your mouse pointer will turn to an hourglass while Windows deletes the files. This may take up to 5 or 10 minutes, depending on the speed of your computer, and the last time you emptied the files.
  6. When the mouse pointer turns back into an arrow, click OK to close the Internet Options menu.

This problem can also be caused when you close the browser window or go to another website without clicking the "Log Off" link in online banking. When you are done with online banking, be sure to click the "Log Off" link located at the bottom of each page and on the left hand menu.

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When I click on your online banking logo a message box pops up telling me the site cannot be opened. Does this mean your web site is down?

If you are using Microsoft's Internet Explorer and you have Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) turned off, you will receive an error message stating that the web page could not be displayed. You must turn on SSL in order to access your account on online banking In Internet Explorer, click the "Tools" menu and select "Internet Options". Click the "Advanced" tab and scroll down to the section labeled "Security". Check the boxes labeled "Use SSL 2.0" and "Use SSL 3.0", then click "OK".

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Who do I contact if I have further questions?

For technical questions about online banking, please e-mail us.

For account questions, or to reset your online banking password, call our Contact Center at 253-383-2016 (toll-free 1-800-562-8130).

For technical questions or to reset your password for Online Bill Payer only, please call 1-800-301-1123.

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Sound Credit Union :: 24 Hour Banking :: Online Banking FAQ