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Electronic Services FAQs

Below are some of the most common questions and answers about Columbia Credit Union's electronic services. If your questions are not answered below, feel free to contact Member Services at 360.891.4000 or 800.699.4009, or contact us using our secure email form.

Enhanced Login Security Questions
• Why is Enhanced Login Security necessary?
• Can I opt out of Enhanced Login Security?
• If I forget the answers to my challenge questions, can you provide me with the answers?
• Why isn't Personal Online Banking accepting my answers to the challenge questions? I know my answers are correct.
• How do I change the challenge questions?
• If I don't like the challenge questions available, are there other questions I can answer instead?
• How many computers can I enroll with Enhanced Login Security?
• How do I enroll a non-enrolled computer?
• How do I un-enroll a computer I no longer use for Personal Online Banking?
• How does the Enhanced Login Security recognize my computer?
• What if I delete the cookies from my computer?

Bill Pay Questions
• How do I sign up for bill pay service?
• Is there a fee for bill payment?
• Which bills can I pay with the bill pay service?
• What is the timeframe for scheduling a payment?
• How do I cancel a payment before it is sent?
• How do I cancel a payment that has already been processed?
• How do I cancel bill pay service?
• My bill pay access has been blocked due to an NSF. What do I do?
• Who do I contact for bill pay support?
• Where can I find additional bill pay help?

Telephone Banking Questions
• What is a suffix?
• What is share-to-share transfer? I want to transfer to my checking account.
• Why does it give me the option to transfer to another members account?
• How do I get access to telephone banking?
• How do I enter a dollar amount into telephone banking for a transfer?
• How do I make a payment on my loan from telephone banking?

ATM Questions
• How long are holds on deposits through the ATM?
• Do I have any alternatives to ATM depositing?

Personal Online Banking Answers

What is Personal Online Banking?
Personal Online Banking is a service for Columbia Credit Union members that provides convenient access to account information and account transactions using the Internet. Personal Online Banking is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

What can I do with Personal Online Banking?
Below is a list of things you can do with Personal Online Banking:

• Check Account Balances
• Transfer Funds
• Export Account History to Money or Quicken
• Pay Bills
• Make Loan Payments
• View Cleared Checks
• Change Password
• Request Statements
• Change Address
• Request no mail

Can I download account information into my money management software?
Yes, you can download account information into either Quicken or Money. When you're logged on to Personal Online Banking, simply click on the QIF Export or Money Export button from the Account Access menu to get started. Click on the Help button if you need additional assistance.

How long will it take for Personal Online Banking transactions to post?
Personal Online Banking transactions will post immediately. Occasionally a transfer request will not post immediately. This usually happens when the credit union's mainframe computer is processing day end totals. After day end totals are done, your transfer will reflect in your balance and history file.

How do I sign up for Personal Online Banking service?
Please complete the secure form by clicking on the link from our Personal Online Banking login page, contact Member Services at 360.891.4000 or 800.699.4009 or stop by any branch to request a password.

What equipment do I need to use Personal Online Banking?

Personal Computer (PC) or Macintosh
Internet connection
Internet/Web Browser (See browser descriptions)
Personal Online Banking Password

What browser do I need to access Personal Online Banking?
We recommend Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0, Mozilla Firefox 4.0+ or Safari 5.0.

Our site is optimized for use with certified/recommended browsers. If you use a different browser, you may not be able to take full advantage of all the features of the site.

The following links can be used to download a supported browser:

If I have more questions about Personal Online Banking, who can I contact?
If you have more questions, contact Member Service at 360.891.4000 or 800.699.4009, or stop by any branch.

Is the Internet safe and secure to use Personal Online Banking?
At Columbia Credit Union, maintaining the highest level of security is a top priority. All Web pages associated with Personal Online Banking are secure. Personal Online Banking utilizes 128-Bit encryption to transmit your account information. When you sign onto Personal Online Banking, our computer identifies your computer with a unique identifier that is only good for your current session with Personal Online Banking. The information that is exchanged between you and the credit union is scrambled and can only be decoded by your computer. Each time you sign on to Personal Online Banking a new identifier is established.

Are there any security guidelines for Personal Online Banking?
Yes. We would encourage you to follow some simple guidelines to add to that protection:

Keep your authorization code confidential and private.
Take advantage of the case sensitive aspect of our password program. Alternate upper and lower cases i.e.: AbCCdeF
Change your authorization code frequently.
Be sure to exit your Personal Online Banking session.
Use a Web browser that supports 128-bit encryption.
Balance your account at a minimum of once a month, so any discrepancies can be reported in a timely manner.

If I enter an incorrect authorization code, will the system block access to the account?
Yes. If you enter the incorrect authorization code three times, your Personal Online Banking access will be blocked. A Member Services representative can unlock the account and you may try again. If you are unable to remember your password the Member Service representative can provide you with a new password.

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I entered my account number and password, and I still can't access Personal Online Banking.
Please re-enter your account number. This is the number that appears on your statement. If you have verified that your account number and password are correct but you still cannot login, contact Member Services at 360.891.4000 or 800.699.4009.

I received a "Server Down" error message when trying to access Personal Online Banking. What does this mean?
In most cases, this means that your Internet service provider is experiencing problems and their server is down. However, each service provider has its own error messages, so you will need to check with your provider for its specific message.

What should I do if I receive an error message that says "Your membership cannot be verified," OR "Your password is incorrect. Please verify and re-enter."?
a) Verify and re-enter your password.

b) Make sure the caps lock key is off. Since passwords are case sensitive, the caps lock key may alter the way your password is being entered.

c) If you have not logged into Personal Online Banking in three months or more, your account may now be inactive and your password reset. Please contact Columbia Credit Union if you need to receive a new password.

I forgot my password. What should I do?
Contact the credit union at 360.891.4000 or visit a branch for assistance.

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Who should I contact if I have other technical questions?
Contact Member Services at 360.891.4000 or 800.699.4009 or stop by any branch. We also have extensive online help available. To access it, simply click the "Help" button while you are logged on to Personal Online Banking.

Enhanced Login Security Answers

Why is Enhanced Login Security necessary?
Enhanced Login Security is just another line of defense to protect your account from online fraud. This security technology acts as an additional line of defense against unauthorized access by:

Identifying your primary computer in addition to your password.
Requiring you to correctly answer three challenge questions if you access your account from a different computer.
Providing added security from any computer, wherever you are.

Can I opt out of Enhanced Login Security?
No. Enhanced Login Security is required for all Personal Online Banking accounts. You can, however, opt to not enroll your computer with Enhanced Login Security. If you opt to not enroll, you will be prompted with the challenge questions at each login.

If I forget the answers to my challenge questions, can you provide me with the answers?
For your account security, we do not store your answers to the Enhanced Login Security questions. A Columbia Credit Union representative, however, can reset the answers to your challenge questions so that you will be prompted to create new answers at your next login.

Why isn't Personal Online Banking accepting my answers to the challenge questions? I know my answers are correct. The answers to the enhanced login security questions are both format and case-sensitive. The system will accept any format for the responses, so it is important to remember how you formatted your answers.

How do I change the challenge questions?
Log into Personal Online Banking, click on the User Options icon, select Challenge Question Setup, from the drop-down menus select the questions you wish to answer, create answers to the challenge questions, and then click Continue. Once you click on Continue, you will be prompted to review and confirm your answers. If you are satisfied with your answers, click OK. You may also click on Cancel if you wish to change the answers to your challenge questions.

If I don't like the challenge questions available, are there other questions I can answer instead?
Unfortunately, we are limited to the questions available and do not have the ability to create additional questions within the Personal Online Banking system.

How many computers can I enroll with Enhanced Login Security?
You may enroll an unlimited number of computers.

How do I enroll a non-enrolled computer?
When using a non-enrolled computer, you will be prompted to answer the challenge questions after entering your Member Number and Password. Once you have successfully answered the challenge questions, you will be prompted to add the enhanced login security to this computer.

How do I un-enroll a computer I no longer use for Personal Online Banking?
You may un-enroll a computer at any time by logging into Personal Online Banking, clicking on User Options, select Enhanced Login Security, and then select Remove extra security protection from this computer.

How does the Enhanced Login Security recognize my computer?
Enhanced Login Security adds a secure cookie to your computer. This cookie does not store any of your personal account information; however, it does add an additional layer of security to your online banking by recognizing your computer at login.

What if I delete the cookies from my computer?
If you delete cookies from your computer, you will be prompted at your next login to answer the three challenge questions. Once you have answered the questions, you may click on the User Options icon, Enhanced Login Security, and then Add extra security protection to this computer. Once you have selected to add the extra security, you will not be prompted with the challenge questions on that computer unless you clear the cookies again.

Bill Pay Answers

How do I sign up for bill pay service?
You can register for bill pay while you are in Personal Online Banking. Simply click the "Bill Payment" tab to get started. Complete the application, click on Submit, and a success screen will appear. Within 1 business day, you will receive an e-mail indicating the bill payment service is active. Once your bill pay is active, select the "Bill Payment" tab to access your bill pay account.

Is there a fee for bill payment?
The bill pay service is free for all members with a personal checking account.

Which bills can I pay with the bill pay service?
You can pay anyone within the U.S., except tax payments, court directed payments and any other government related payments. Depending on the type of payment your payee accepts, your bills will be sent either electronically or by check.

What is the timeframe for scheduling a payment?
You may schedule payments for the current business day until 7:30pm PST, Monday through Friday, with the exception of federal holidays.

How do I cancel a payment before it is sent?
You can cancel or modify any pending payments until 7:30pm on the scheduled "send on" date. To cancel a payment, go to the "Make Payments" page; look in the area labeled "Pending Payments" and select "Cancel" next to the payment you wish to cancel. To modify a payment, select "Details" and then choose "Edit Payment" from the screen that appears, make changes and select "Save".

How do I cancel a payment that has already been processed?
To stop a payment made by check, contact our Member Service department at 360-891-4000 or 1-800-699-4009. A stop payment fee will be assessed. Stop payments cannot be placed on electronic payments once they have been sent.

How do I cancel bill pay service?
Complete the secure form within Personal Online Banking and allow 5-10 business days.

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My bill pay access has been blocked due to an NSF. What do I do?
In the event that you authorize a payment, and the funds are not available to withdraw from your checking account, Metavante will block your bill pay activity. In most cases, Metavante will attempt to withdraw the funds up to three times from your designated checking account. Upon successfully completing the withdrawal, the block on your account will be removed after 5 business days. If Metavante is unsuccessful in collecting the funds, you will be submitted for internal collections. To settle collection items with Metavante, please contact 877-346-5272, M-F 7:00am-6:00pm CST.

While your bill pay account is blocked due to NSF activity, pending payments will be cancelled. One-time pending payments will need to be rescheduled once bill pay access is reinstated. Recurring pending payments, with a "send on" date in the future will be re-scheduled. Recurring payments with a "send on" date in the past will not be automatically rescheduled. For additional information contact Member Service at 360-891-4000 or 800-699-4009.

Who do I contact for bill pay support?
Please contact Columbia Credit Union for support with your bill payment account. Select the following link for a variety of ways to reach us: Contact Us.

Where can I find additional bill pay help?
To access additional Bill Pay help, log into your personal online banking account, click on the Bill Payment tab, scroll to the bottom of any page and select from "Help", "Glossary" and "FAQs".

Telephone Banking Answers

What is a suffix?
Credit unions use suffixes as a way to identify the different products you have, while keeping it simple, using one account number - that's why you receive one statement with all your account relationships. Your statement shows your suffix numbers in the far left hand column across from the name of your account.

What is share-to-share transfer? I want to transfer to my checking account.
Credit unions use the word "share" to identify deposit accounts. So if you want to transfer from your savings to checking, checking to savings or between any other deposit accounts, you would use the share-to-share transfer option.

Why does it give me the option to transfer to another members account?
That is when you have a related account (also called a cross-account) that you have set up to transfer money to. This may include transferring money from your checking account to your child's savings account.

How do I get access to telephone banking?
Call Member Services or visit your branch today for your telephone banking PIN code. When you're requesting your PIN, make sure you also request a Personal Online Banking PIN for computer access, so that whether you're by a phone or on the Internet you're always close to Columbia.

How do I enter a dollar amount into telephone banking for a transfer?
Entering amounts in telephone banking requires a decimal marker. The * symbol is used for the decimal. For instance, if you wanted to transfer $50.00, you would enter 50*00. The system will repeat your request and ask you to verify by pressing 1 if it is correct or 2 if you want to cancel.

How do I make a payment to my loan from telephone banking?
To make a payment on a loan, you transfer the amount you want to pay from your deposit account to your loan account. For example, to make a payment of $50 to your car loan account, you would transfer $50.00 from your checking account to your car loan.

ATM Answers

How long are holds on deposits through the ATM?
It depends on what you're depositing and when. Cash and US Treasury Checks will be made available the next business day (typically, Monday through Friday) or the same day if the deposit was made prior to 7 a.m. Other deposits will be made available the second business day after your deposit.

Do I have any alternatives to ATM depositing?
Definitely! Alternative to ATM deposits include:

Signing up for direct deposit, a program that deposits your payroll check directly into your savings or checking account. See your employer or ask at any Columbia Credit Union branch or Member Services to see if your employer uses direct deposit.
Deposit inside the branch.
Consider applying for overdraft protection where, upon approved credit, money is automatically transferred from your Personal Line of Credit.