What is MemberDirect® Online Banking? What does it do?

MemberDirect Online allows you to do your own banking transactions from any computer that has Internet access. You can check your accounts, print your own statements, pay bills, add and remove bill payment vendors, transfer funds and put stop payments on cheques. MemberDirect Online includes a link to the Education Credit Union web site where you will find information about our products and services and calculators that will help you make your financial decisions.

How secure is MemberDirect® Online Banking? Can anyone else access my financial information?

MemberDirect Online offers you the industry standard used by all major financial institutions. MemberDirect is accessed through a secure server off-site, so, even though you are accessing your Education Credit Union account, you are only doing so by inputting the correct Personal Access Code and verification systems introduced through the Increased Authentication feature. You are not accessing the Education Credit Union server in any way. This means your privacy and confidentiality are assured. Any personal or transactional information transmitted between you and the credit union is secure, and cannot be read by anyone else. With MemberDirect Online Banking, the integrity of the information you send is guaranteed.

Increased Authentication

When you logon to MemberDirect Online banking beginning October 3, 2011, you’ll see a notice explaining that Education Credit Union is introducing a new security measure to help protect your online transactions, called Increased Authentication.

The Increased Authentication feature introduces an added layer of security by storing information in the form of security question/answer, a caption and an image, chosen by the member. The combination of image, caption, and security questions helps a user to confirm that the site is a legitimate online banking site.

How Do I Enroll?

Over the next 60 days, when you logon to MemberDirect Online banking, you’ll be advised about the new Increased Authentication feature. After entering your Branch Name and Member Number, you’ll be presented with the option to enroll. The option will automatically be checked. You will have until December 5, 2011 to sign up, after which, you will be forced to enroll.

During enrollment, you will be asked chose an image from a library of pictures then input a caption, either a word or a phrase in association with the image.  You will be taken to a security question page where you will choose 3 questions, such as “What was the name of your high school”.  You will provide the answer to each of the questions.  These answers will be compared to what you input when logging on to MemberDirect from an unregistered computer in the future.

Below are some frequently asked questions regarding Increased Authentication to assist you with the process.

Why Are We Offering Increased Authentication Now?

Technology is ever changing.  When we first offered online banking, the functionality was limited to the movement of funds within the account or the payment of bills to vendors set up through our staff.

Inter-member transfers became available, but again, the setup was (and still is) initiated through a call to a Member Services Rep.

We have recently introduced the ability for members to add/change/delete their own bill payment merchants.  We are also looking at other services, such as e-transfers and Me-to-Me transfers.  We feel that it is important to take advantage of any additional security measures available to us.

MemberDirect Services has integrated RSA’s Adaptive Authentication for the Web feature into online banking.  RSA delivers the world’s leading authentication solutions for online banking.

With the implementation of Integrated Authentication, we will now follow the industry standard used by many other leading financial institutions.

What is a Registered Computer?

During the enrollment process, or when logging in thereafter, you can choose to ‘register’ the computer you are on.  You might register a computer you trust such as a home pc or laptop.  When you login from a registered computer, you will not have to answer a security question.  If you login from an unregistered computer, you will have to answer one of your chosen security questions which are presented on a random basis.

When a computer is registered, a ‘cookie’ is stored on your PC for identification purposes. There is no limit to how many computers can be registered. If you clear your browser's cookies on a registered machine, you will be prompted to answer security question and re-register your computer.  Never register a public, work or shared computer for security reasons.

Javascript Required

Javascript is required. The Increased Authentication functionality does not work without Javascript enabled. To enable Javascript:

• Internet Explorer: Tools menu > Internet Options. On the Security tab, select Internet. Click on Custom Level. Scroll down to Scripting. Select “Enable” (or “Prompt”) for “Active scripting”. Click OK to save changes. Then hit F5 to refresh the browser. The login should work now.
• Firefox:   Tools > Content icon. Check “Enable JavaScript”. Click OK to save changes. Then hit F5 to refresh the browser. The login should work now.

If you have any problems, contact Sonoma Technical Support Services at 1-888-273-3488.

Sonoma Technical Support Services – 24/7 at 1-888-273-3488

Although enrolling in Increased Authentication is a fairly straightforward process, we do expect an increase in support calls.   There are many different variables due to the wide array of systems in use, including Windows and Mac operating systems, browsers such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Safari, Linix based systems, etc.

For this reason, we subscribe to help desk services through Sonoma Technical Support Services, to assist members with any of the technical issues related to any of our MemberDirect Services.  Members can call for assistance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Their phone number can be obtained above, on the contact page of our website, and through the Online Banking login page, which also has an email link.

Enrollment Tied to Each Member Number

Increased Authentication enrollment is tied one to one with a member number. If you have multiple accounts for access through MemberDirect, you need to enroll in Increased Authentication for each account.  If you open a new account, you need to enroll that account with Increased Authentication for use with online banking.

Getting Locked Out

 You may get locked out of Increased Authentication if you fail to provide correct answer to a security question 3 times in a row. This count is reset each time you provide a correct answer. This only relates to security questions and images.

Your Personal Access Code is not related to Increased Authentication. If you enter an incorrect PAC 3 times, you must be unlocked through contact with a Member Services Rep at your branch, or you can wait 24 hours.

Members locked out from Increased Authentication after giving an incorrect answer to a security question 3 consecutive times are NOT automatically reset after 24 hours.  Contact a Member Services Rep at the Education Credit Union or Sonoma Technical Support Services to unlock the account.

Security Question – Answer Format

Answers to security questions are not case-sensitive, but they are space sensitive. For example, if saved answer was “Vancouver BC”:

• “Vancouver” is not a correct answer
• “VancouverBC” is not a correct answer
• “vancouver bc” is a correct answer
• “vancouver BC” is a correct answer

The answers are saved exactly the way they were entered.

Verify Successful Enrollment

How to verify if you have successfully enrolled into Increased Authentication feature:

• Upon entering your branch and account number, the next login page is “Security Question” if you have not checked “Register this computer” previously. If you have registered your computer, the next login page shows the selected security image and caption, and PAC input.
• Upon entering your account number, if the next login page shows only PAC input without any security image, this means you are NOT enrolled in Increased Authentication feature yet.

How is Mobile Web Affected?

For mobile web users, the following will occur with the introduction of Increased Authentication:

• For the Increased Authentication transition period:
• mobile web users not enrolled in Increased Authentication will not see anything related to the Increased Authentication feature
• if the mobile web user is enrolled in Increased Authentication, they will basically see the same thing as what is displayed to them in online banking and will be able to register their device, etc.
• After the Increased Authentication transition period has expired:
• mobile web users not enrolled in Increased Authentication  will be forced to enroll in Increased Authentication via the online banking website (can't do that using a mobile device)
• all enrolled Increased Authentication users using mobile web will see everything related to Increased Authentication that the online banking users see (option to register the device if they have not already, image, etc.) 
• If the member is enrolled in Increased Authentication and chooses not to register the device, they will see exactly the same thing as a member using online banking in that they will have to answer a security question.

Browser Cache

It is recommended to clear browser’s “cache” each time after your MemberDirect Online banking session is closed.  A number of issues can arise such as an incorrect security image or caption being displayed.  If a member has an issue, they can contact Sonoma Technical Support Services who will help to troubleshoot browser issues.

What is the Increased Authentication Transition Period?

In order to provide a period of time in which members can enroll in Increased Authentication, the Education Credit Union has selected a 60 day period, starting at October 3, 2011 and ending on December 5, 2011.

Where do I get MemberDirect Online Banking and what equipment do I need to run it?

MemberDirect Online is avaliable on the internet. The program is available on the Internet - just connect to the Internet, load your browser program, and type in your credit union home page web address. You don't require special equipment to run MemberDirect Online Banking - but we do recommend that you access the program with the latest browser. As a matter of fact, in some cases you will have to up-date your browser because older versions will not work in our MemberDirect Environment.

Javascript is also required. The Increased Authentication functionality does not work without Javascript enabled. To enable Javascript:

• Internet Explorer: Tools menu > Internet Options. On the Security tab, select Internet. Click on Custom Level. Scroll down to Scripting. Select “Enable” (or “Prompt”) for “Active scripting”. Click OK to save changes. Then hit F5 to refresh the browser. The login should work now.
• Firefox:   Tools > Content icon. Check “Enable JavaScript”. Click OK to save changes. Then hit F5 to refresh the browser. The login should work now.

This is the first time I've used MemberDirect Online Banking. After I input my account number and PAC, I received a disclaimer and legal agreement. Will that happen every time I use MemberDirect?

No. The first time you use the system, you will be asked to read and accept the legal agreement. You will have to input your PAC at the end of the agreement to signify your acceptance of the terms and conditions of MemberDirect Online Banking. You will not be presented with the agreement again after the acceptance.

I entered the wrong PAC three times in a row and now I can't get into MemberDirect. What's wrong?

MemberDirect Online Banking has a built-in security feature that will lock out your MemberDirect access for 24 hours if you key in the wrong PAC three times. During business hours, you can contact your branch to reset your password. Otherwise, you can try again tomorrow.

Can I access all of my accounts through MemberDirect Online Banking?

Yes - you can access all of your personal accounts with MemberDirect individually. As long as you have a Personal Access Code (PAC) set up for each account number, you'll receive all the information attached to each account including loans and RRSP balance information.

I asked for a statement of my account but didn't get any transaction history. Why?

MemberDirect Online access will only provide detailed account information if there has been activity on the account during the period that you requested. Increase the time period selected to view account activity (up to 1 year). Keep in mind that term deposits transactions can be infrequent and may not appear for the period you've requested.

What happens if there's a problem?

MemberDirect Online Banking has an on-line help menu within the program which you can access any time. But that's not all - technical support is just a phone call away. You have access to technical support 24 hours a day/7 days a week. The phone number is 1-888-273-3488.

Why does the program sometimes disconnect?

For your convenience and security, MemberDirect Online Banking automatically disconnects if you are not actively using the system for longer than five minutes. Simply re-connect after being disconnected and continue your transactions.

Who else knows my Personal Access Code?

Your Personal Access Code is absolutely confidential. For your own security, make sure you do not reveal your Personal Access Code to anyone else. If you want to change your PAC you can do so through MemberDirect Online or our MemberDirect Telephone service (the PAC for these two systems are the same). Just call 651-0800 or 745-1500, enter your account number and PAC and choose option 4 to change your PAC. Your PAC can be any combination of numbers from 4 to 7 digits, but cannot begin with a 0. If you forget your PAC, the Education Credit Union staff can set up a new one for you.

How can I make sure no one else has access to my account information?

We recommend that you develop some good habits like never leaving your PC unattended while using the home banking service. Always exit from MemberDirect Online Banking and your Internet browser if you step away from your computer, and disable the automatic password save features in your Internet browser.