Online and Mobile Banking Security

Desktop Online Banking Security

Provident Credit Union knows that security is important to you when it comes to online transactions, and we take every safeguard to protect your accounts. Provident's online banking supports the latest 128 bit encryption to ensure a secure environment for your account access. Unauthorized access is prevented by limiting the number of incorrect sign on attempts, by automatically ending a session after a prolonged period of inactivity, and more. The safety of your money and information is of primary concern to Provident.

With "Multi-Factor Authentication" we do not rely on a User ID and password alone, but also have complex heuristics that determine if there is anything out of the ordinary about your sign on. If there is, we ask you follow-up questions that only you should be able to answer. Plus, before you enter your password, we show you the picture that you picked previously. In this way, you are assured to be on the real Provident site before you reveal your password.

Provident's online banking lets you set a complex User ID and password using numbers, upper and lower case letters, special characters, and even punctuation. This greatly decreases the chances that anyone else will ever guess your password. Members are encouraged to use long passwords or pass-phrases, as longer passwords are much more secure and harder to crack.

With our Zero Liability Fraud Protection Guarantee, you can rest assured that in the event your account is compromised, you will not be held accountable for any fraudulent electronic transactions made on your account.

Secure Messages

Provident has long offered its members a "Message Center" feature in online banking, where you can exchange mail messages with us securely. Any mail you send or receive through the Message Center is encrypted (no one but the sender and recipient can read it). And because you've signed on using your own User ID and password, we know we're really talking to you, and not to an impostor. Sign on to online banking to use this feature. Use the "Message Center" button on the left, the "Contact" button at the top of the page, or the "Contacts" link at the bottom of the page. This is the best way to contact Provident about your account. It enables secure, two-way communications, along with a message history thread when multiple e-mails are required.

Mobile Banking Security

Criminals may publish mobile banking smart phone software ("apps") designed to mimic the Provident app, in order to steal your online banking sign-on credentials. To help protect your accounts and information, only download Provident Credit Union’s mobile banking app using links from this site. The real Provident iPhone app is located on the App Store, here, and the real Provident Android app is located on Google Play, here. Provident does not endorse or support any other apps that require you to enter your online banking User ID and password.

Security for the mobile app is similar to the full size online banking site. Your User ID and password are the same. Multi-factor authentication will ask you a security question if there is something unfamiliar about the way you are signing in. All communication is encrypted by industry-standard 128-bit SSL encryption. This prevents cell phone "scanning" or other attempts to eavesdrop on a transmission.

Please note that some mobile phone companies decrypt and re-encrypt the transmission to and from their phone system and the Internet. Provident cannot take responsibility for the security or privacy of your information during that step. Of particular concern are the Opera Mini browser (designed for use on small-screen phones) and the Silk browser on the Amazon Fire.

For your own security, make sure to sign off every time that you are finished with your mobile banking session. Provident also recommends that members set a hard-to-guess password or PIN on the phone itself. Mobile sessions do time out automatically. The last page you accessed may remain visible on some phones until you sign off or navigate to another page after the timeout. These measures will help prevent casual viewing by anyone who picks up your phone.

STOLEN PORTABLE DEVICES

• Enabling automatic screen-locking helps prevent unauthorized access when the device is not in use. The locked screen requires entering the correct password to unlock it. This is not foolproof, as the device can be cracked to access the contents without the password.
• Setting up a remote wipe program to send a command to your device that will delete all stored data. This must be done quickly as a dead battery, disabled or limited reception will prevent the wipe from taking place.
• Store device records including device make, model, and serial number in a safe place in case you need to report it lost or stolen
• You can disable access to mobile Web banking and Provident's mobile apps from within Provident's online banking. It's a good idea to change your online banking password and User ID to thwart any attempts to access your account by other means.
• You can reach our Contact Center or your nearest community branch and they can disable your access to mobile banking

For more information about Provident's mobile banking, please visit Mobile Banking.