General Internet Banking FAQs

Who can sign-up for Internet Banking?

• Anyone who is a New Zealand Resident or Citizen, who is over 16 years of age and who has a Current Account Saver with Southern Cross Building Society (the Society) on which they have the ability to operate as an individual (i.e. all other signatories on the account are optional).

How do I sign up for Internet Banking?

• To use internet banking, you'll need a Society Customer ID and an internet banking password.  You will also need to complete the Internet Banking Registration form and apply in person at one of our branches.

What do I need to use Internet Banking?

• A Society Current Account Saver account (requiring only one person to operate)
• A Society Customer number and an internet banking password
• Access to a PC with a Pentium processor running Microsoft Windows XP / 2000 or higher; or access to an Apple Macintosh running OS 9.0 or higher
• Internet Access with a 128-bit compatible browser and required browser settings, and
• An internet connection speed of 56kbps or higher.

I have accounts that need more than one person to operate - can I still access these accounts through Internet Banking?

• No.  To be able to transact on an account in Internet Banking, you must have an account that requires only one person to operate it.
• If you need joint or multiple people to operate or sign cheques on your account, you will not be able to access the account via internet banking.
  

Can I update my personal details, like my address, on-line?

• At this stage you are unable to update your personal or address details through internet banking.
• For security reasons, you can only change your address or personal details by writing to us or by visiting one of our branches.

How do I know that the Society's Internet Banking is safe and secure?

• The data travelling across the internet between your computer and our Internet Banking system is encrypted.  This protects your data from other people as it travels across the internet.

How often should I change my password?

• It is not compulsory to change your password, however we recommend that you change your password at least every three months.  Your password is your "key" to internet banking, so it is very important that you take precautions to keep it safe.  Under the internet banking terms and conditions you are obliged to protect your password.

How do I choose a password for internet banking?

• Your internet banking password must be a minimum of 6 characters and should include at least one letter and one number.  The password is case sensitive, that means that "A" is different to "a". It may also include punctuation characters.
• The password you choose for internet banking should be different to any other passwords you use eg. it should not be the same as your e-mail password, auction site passwords, etc.
• You also should not use a password that relates to any easily obtained personal information about you eg. family, street or pet names, your birthday, nor should you use any obvious or sequential numbers such as 54321,or repeating numbers such as 22222.

What should I do if I think that someone knows my password?

• If for any reason, you believe someone knows your internet banking password, you should change your password immediately.  You can do this on-line.
• You should also advise us by calling 0800 657 935, or contacting your local branch.
• We recommend that you check your balances and transactions to ensure everything is in order.

How do I change my Internet Banking password?

• It's easy to change your internet banking password at any time online.  Simply log-in and choose the Change Password option from the menu bar.

I've entered my password wrong too many times and now can't log-in - what do I do?

• When logging into Internet Banking, if you enter your password incorrectly three times in a row, you will be locked out of the system.  This is a precaution we've put in place for security reasons to prevent unauthorised access attempts.
• If you are locked out, simply call us on 0800 657 935 (8:30am to 5pm Monday to Friday).  We will need to ask you a few questions to confirm your identity before resetting your password over the phone.
  
  Note: Any reset internet banking passwords are only valid for 24 hours - if you do not log-in to Internet Banking within this time, the password will expire.

I've forgotten my customer ID/Internet Banking password, what do I do?

• If you forget your password or your Customer ID, please call us on 0800 657 935 (8:30am to 5pm Monday to Friday).  We'll need to ask you a few questions to confirm your identity before telling you your Customer ID or resetting your password over the phone.
  
  Note: Any reset internet banking passwords are only valid for 24 hours - if you do not log-in to Internet Banking within this time, the password will expire.

What happens if I forget to log off?

• As well as protecting your password, you need to protect your Internet Banking session.
• We have a time-out in place in case you forget to log-off.  After 1 minute of inactivity you will be automatically logged off, however this in no way reduces or removes your liability for ensuring that appropriate personal security procedures are followed.
• You should always log off from your internet banking session when you have finished.  This is especially important if you are sharing a computer with other people.

What to do if Internet Banking crashes while I am doing my banking?

• We expect that this would be a very rare event.  Transactions are processed as they are entered, so your last entered transaction should have gone through.  You should double check your account balances and transaction lists to confirm.

Does Southern Cross Building Society use a digital certificate?

• Yes.  We have a digital certificate verifying that our internet banking site is encrypted and secure.

Internet Banking Transactions

Please note: in all cases the term 'working day' refers to normal business days except Saturday, Sunday and national public holidays.

What is your cut-off time for on-line transactions?

• The cut-off time for internet banking payments for overnight processing is 6:30pm on working days.  Internet Banking transactions completed before 6:30pm on a working day are processed that night, while transactions processed after 6:30pm will be processed the next working day.

Transfers between accounts

• When you transfer funds between your Society accounts using the funds transfer menu option, the transaction is processed immediately. The balances of the affected accounts will be updated at the time the transfer is processed.
  

Can a transaction be cancelled?

• When you use internet banking to process transactions on your account, you will be asked to confirm your transaction details before the transaction is completed.  This confirmation step allows you the chance to check the transaction details are correct and helps minimise the risk of an error being made.  Once you confirm a transaction for processing that day, it cannot be cancelled.
• Future dated payments can be cancelled by contacting one of our branch staff members before 5pm on the scheduled payment date.

What happens when I make an internet banking payment on a weekend or public holiday?

• Payments made via internet banking on a non-working day will be processed on the next working day.  For example if you make a payment on a Sunday, the payment will be processed on the Monday night.

How do future-dated transactions work?

• Future-dated transactions will be processed on your account on the date you specify on the transaction (unless this is a non-working day) provided you have sufficient funds in your account on the date to process the transaction.

I'm expecting money in my account today - will my planned payment go through?

• It is a good idea to plan future dated transactions for the day after you are expecting funds to be deposited into your account.  Deposits into your account from other banks are processed after midnight each working day, and will therefore not be in your account in time to fund a planned payment due today.

What happens if I don't have enough money in my account on a planned payment date?

• If there are insufficient available funds on the planned payment date to cover your payment, your payment will not be processed.

Can I set up a new automatic payment to start today?

• No. Automatic payments can only be set-up to start on the next working day.

What happens if an automatic payment falls due on a weekend or public holiday?

• Automatic payments only get processed on working days.  If a payment falls on a non-working day, the payment will be made on the next working day.

I want to change or cancel an automatic payment.  What is the latest time that I can do it by?

• Automatic payments only get processed on working days.  If the next payment date falls due on a working day, you can change or cancel the payment instruction any time up to 6:30pm.  If it is after 6:30pm the payment will be processed unchanged - your changes will not take effect until the next payment date.  Please note: You cannot change the date of the automatic payment to be today, it will need to be tomorrow.

If you have any other questions please contact us on 0800 657 935 (8:30am to 5pm Monday to Friday) or submit a contact us request.