News & Views from the best way to bank.
Just a heads-up: our website will be down for maintenance on Saturday, Jan. 22 from 11 p.m. until midnight. Because of some power settings, there’s a chance our site could be down until 6 a.m. that Sunday morning.
According to the robots who fix these things, it’s all because of some infrastructure growth in Virginia that will affect our data servers. Yay, progress!
Sorry for an inconvenience!
Check that out – a new american1fcu.org!
Five years in the making (or, well, since our last update), the new website features an easy navigation scheme, less clutter, and social media links leading you to places like American 1’s blog, Flickr photo gallery, and YouTube page.
But most of the pages and organization will stay the same – it’ll just make more sense. So “Banking” has all the things to do with cash (savings, checking, etc.), “Loans” has what we’re really good at, and “eServices” has all the convenient ways to manage your money.
Check it out, and let us know what you think!
UPDATE: Our system is restored and running as normal. Sorry for the delay.
We came in this morning with the news that our system update is going to take a bit longer than we expected.
You may have trouble getting through to home banking this morning until about 1 p.m. Hopefully we’ll get this delay cleared up by then.
Our overnight process, the one that usually takes care of these things, failed – meaning we had an issue on our hands this morning. It happens rarely, but when it does it happens unexpectedly.
Stay tuned for details!
Our computer system is getting an upgrade Tuesday, Aug. 17 starting at 8 p.m. While we’re upgrading, home banking will be down until Wednesday morning. All your Bill Pay transactions will take place as scheduled, however, as long as you scheduled payments before the down time.
All branches and systems should be up and running by 9 a.m. Wednesday, much like last week.
Thanks for your patience while we upgrade the system.
UPDATE: The system is back online and working as normal. Thanks for your patience!
American 1’s computer system will be down for repairs starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday night and lasting until about noon on Wednesday.
This means you won’t be able to use online banking or A1 Access during the down time.
Your debit and Visa cards will be unaffected, however, as will any ATM transactions – so you can use those as normal. Also, Bill Pay payments scheduled before the down time will be paid.
Once the system is done with maintenance, everything will come back online. We’ll keep you updated at this blog post, so check back for updates.
Sorry for the inconvenience!
A fun video from Service 1 FCU up in Muskegon. The same principle applies to American 1, and most credit unions.
With services like online banking, online Bill Pay, A1 Access for your phone, and our giant network of no-surcharge ATMs, American 1 is pretty much everywhere you are.
NOTE: This explains e-notices, but you go through the same process to find your tax forms.
If you’re signed up for American 1’s e-statement system (and thanks if you are!), you get informational notices – like changes in your account terms or late payment warnings – through the same system.
But let’s say a e-notice e-mail shows up in your inbox. How do you get that important information?
First, log in to home banking. You should see your account screen, with all your account and loan types.
Now click on the History tab at the top, and click eStatements (above). This is exactly how you would check for your e-statements.
And just like checking your e-statements, you’re going to click “Get my E-Statement.”
Now you’re in the main e-statement system. You can see that the e-statement tab is blue, meaning that’s the active tab. Now look up in the upper right corner.
See where it says “You have unread Notices!”? That means you have something new to read, so click on the Notices tab (above).
And, again, just like e-statements, your e-notices are listed chronologically in PDF form, so you can either view or save your new e-notices.
We don’t send e-notices through e-mail for the same reason we don’t send e-statements directly to your inbox: security. That information in the wrong hands could be dangerous.
A bit of good financial advice from Trent over at the Simple Dollar:
Second, read all of your notices. Even though I’m supposedly on the “paperless” plan for several of my bills, I still receive oodles of statements and messages from these companies. Most of them are completely unimportant to me…
After a while, it’s very easy to become numb to all of it. Don’t. Open every one, read it over, and handle it appropriately. Yes, most of them will go in the trash can. Yes, you’ll often feel like you just wasted fifteen minutes of your life.
But for every fifty useless missives that you read, one will be very important.
We can stress strongly enough how important it is to at least look over your statements.
Sure, if you’re a customer at a bank, you probably get gobs and gobs of mail from them every month. Us? We send minimal mail. And you could get even less if you sign up for e-statements.
But even e-statements are important. You may have important noticed posted to your account under the e-statement system, so make sure you check it at least once a month.
A heads-up for e-statement subscribers: your 2009 tax documents are now posted within the system.
To view your tax documents, log in to A1@home, and from the Account Summary screen head to the History tab at the top, then click “e-statements.” You should see a link that says “Get my e-statement.” Click that, and the “Tax Notices” link will be at the top of the pop-up screen (see above).
However, if you signed up for e-statements after January 25, 2010, you may not receive an electronic notice for your tax forms. You may get them in the mail. If you don’t see your tax documents in the e-statement system in the next day or so, look to your real world mailbox after January 31.
Not signed up for e-statements yet? You should be! You can can get all your documents faster than by regular mail – including tax forms!
UPDATE: E-statement subscribers – your tax documents should be posted to the system by now. Thanks!
Over the past few months, we’ve heard from lots of members about e-statements – the efficient, convenient way to check your statements. For some members, e-statements are a brand new idea, and some may feel nervous about checking your account activity on the Internet.
For some members, e-statements won’t make sense. We understand that, and respect each member’s personal preferences.
But we can try to help clear up any misgivings about how the process works, and how safe it is.
We’ve heard you. And we want to help.
“I DON’T HAVE A COMPUTER.”
For members who don’t own a computer, the idea of e-statements probably seems silly. Why check your statement on the web when you can’t access the web?
However, ask yourself: do you open your statement when it arrives in the mail?
If you honestly don’t, e-statements are a good way to clear out your real-life mailbox. It’s one less piece of clutter you don’t have to toss out or recycle. And since “reduce” comes before “recycle,” reducing your mail is a good way to help the environment.
But if you don’t have a computer and you really do check your American 1 statement each month, then by all means – continue to receive the regular paper statement.
“I’M WORRIED ABOUT SECURITY.”
American 1’s home banking system uses the same Internet encryption that large online retailers use.
To test it, visit american1fcu.org. Look up at the address bar. At the beginning of our web address, it will say “https://” and then our secure web address. The “s” at the end of “http” means our site is protected by high-grade online security.
But that only protects your information on our side. If you’re really worried about security, the worst that could happen is someone finds out about your online banking username or password. To prevent that kind of identity theft, keep a username and password combo that’s easy for you to remember but hard for others to guess, and keep that information safe and secure.
Thousands of account transactions are posted to American 1’s home banking site each week, with no breaches in security. Odds are, your account information will remain your account info.
“I DON’T TRUST E-MAILS SENDING MY ACCOUNT INFO.”
Rest assured, e-statements are not sent over e-mail. Rather, a reminder is sent to your e-mail each month letting you know your e-statement is ready for viewing.
To view e-statements, you must log on to American 1’s A1@home online banking site. Your e-statement is stored there, and is not sent via e-mail. We do this to keep a copy of your electronic statement secured on our end, not sitting in your e-mail inbox for anyone to see.
“MY KID’S/JOINT/SHARED ACCOUNT DOESN’T NEED E-STATEMENTS.”
If you manage someone else’s account at the credit union, share an account with family, or oversee your child’s Eagle Earners Club account, e-statements are the perfect way to cut down on mail clutter.
Or if you have an American 1 account to simply make your loan payment, you may not need a paper copy of your statement each month. E-statements are perfect for these kinds of pass-through accounts that you probably don’t need to manage on a month-to-month basis.
A FEW OTHER THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
If you’re unsure about how the system works, ask a Member Service Specialist at any branch to walk you through the setup. E-statements are easier than ever to access, and we’d love to show you how to do it.
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