Wallet’s Extra Security, MFA

When you use Wallet – our online money management tool, you can rest assured that we’re taking security precautions seriously as we try to protect your information.  One of the many ways we do this is through multi-factor authentication, a.k.a. MFA.  Here’s how MFA works and what it does for you.

MFA Ins & Outs

First, the credentials.  Multi-factor authentication is a bank-worthy method.  Literally.  A program that’s good enough for bank security is good enough for us.  Banks who implement MFA use it for their online banking systems.

What is MFA, exactly?  MFA is an additional login step required when a user tries to log into his or her account.  There are many specific types of MFA, but you can pretty much break them down into two categories:

1. Static: a login step that does not change on a regular basis (e.g. answering security questions when you log in)
2. Dynamic: a login step that changes every time you log in or changes with some other degree of frequency (e.g. getting a new pin number sent to your phone each time you log in)

When a bank uses MFA, they can choose which type of MFA they want to implement.

MFA Benefits for You

Identity theft and data breaches are real threats.  That’s why we take extra steps to try and protect ourselves and our members from things that might hinder their financial success.  MFA is one of those steps.

If a fraudster comes up to your financial castle and tries to gain access to all of your riches, MFA is the trusty knight who says, “Whoa, buddy.  You need to answer some questions first.”

MFA makes access more complicated, giving a thief more hoops to jump through and giving you some peace of mind knowing you have another wall of protection between financial success and financial theft.

How MFA & Wallet Work Together

Wallet allows you to see your accounts and financial activity in one place.  That means – for a more full and accurate picture – allowing Wallet to access your financial institution(s) in order to obtain your most recent financial data, like transaction history and current account balances.  (Keep in mind that Wallet is read-only, which means you cannot add, transfer or remove funds.)

Wallet works with both static and dynamic MFA types, but in general, static types work best.  Because Wallet automatically refreshes your data every night (so you can stay up to date), using a dynamic MFA that’s always changing can interrupt the “refresh” process.  Ultimately, the type of MFA is up to the bank; nevertheless, providing a phenomenal customer experience is important to us, so we do our best to accommodate the bank’s security preference while maintaining ease-of-use for you.

You also have power, when it comes to employing MFA.  Some financial institutions allow users to adjust or specify the MFA settings used on their accounts.  This is especially important to remember if you use Wallet and receive an error message, because it could mean that a dynamic MFA is disrupting the process.  You may be able to fix the problem by logging in directly to your online banking system (not Wallet but the bank that Wallet is pulling information from) and reviewing your settings to see if you can adjust MFA.

Financial Clarity & Security

Your financial wellness is our top priority.  Wallet makes it easier to understand your finances and see how your money is working for you.  Wallet uses MFA and is backed by some of the industry’s top monitoring systems, so you can also trust that we’re doing our best to protect your financial information from prying eyes.

To learn more about Wallet, visit our website or talk with a Money Coach about how to get started.  Call 888-724-2326 today.