Personal Online Banking FAQs

A: Bank Independent Online Banking supports the latest version of major browsers like Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.

A: During each session in which you use Bank Independent Online Banking, the system will pass a “cookie” to your browser for the purpose of identifying you during that session. A “cookie” is security data that is given to an internet browser by a web server that is returned by the browser to the server on subsequent transmissions to identify the user and encryption information. When you log in to Bank Independent Online Banking, a “cookie” enables the bank to process multiple transactions during the same communication session without you having to provide your Online Banking user ID and password for each individual transaction.

A: You must notify Customer Service immediately at (256) 386-5000 or (877) 865-5050 if you believe your User ID or password has been compromised or if an unauthorized transaction has occurred.

A: You are allowed three attempts to enter your password.  If you are unsuccessful after the third attempt, you will be locked out of Online Banking.  Immediate access may be regained by using the “Forgot your Password?” option or calling Customer Service at (256) 386-5000 or (877) 865-5050.

A: Online Banking has a ten-minute time-out feature.  If you are logged in for ten consecutive minutes without using Online Banking, the system will alert you that time-out is going to occur and allow you to choose to continue your session.  If you don’t continue, the session will log you out.

A: We take numerous steps to keep your account information secure.  However, you must take precautions as well.  We suggest the following:

• Choose a strong password.  Your Online Banking password and your user ID authenticate you when you begin an Online Banking session.  You should carefully select a password that is hard to guess.  You should not use personal information or a word that can be found in the dictionary.
• Keep your password safe.  Even the best password is worthless if it’s written on a note attached to your computer or in your checkbook.  Memorize your password and never tell it to anyone.  We do not need your password to assist you with your Online Banking account, so we will never ask for it.
• Remember to sign off properly.  You may not always be at your own computer when you bank online.  Therefore, it’s important to sign off when you’re finished banking.  If you forget to do so, the system automatically logs you off after ten minutes of inactivity.

A: Bank Independent Online Banking supports the latest version of major browsers like Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.

Internet Explorer 11 will still be supported, for now, but IE 11 users may see a message stating they are using an outdated browser. Even with our robust layered security system, one of the best lines of defense continues to be using an up-to-date browser. Internet Explorer 11 is no longer under active development by Microsoft. While it continues to receive updated security patches, it does not support all of the modern security features. We recommend using the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.

A: Bank Independent’s Bill Pay service allows you to set up payments to just about anyone.  You tell us the person or company you want to make a payment to, and we will withdraw the money from your account and send the payment to the payee.  You may schedule one-time, occasional or recurring payments to be paid right away or on a date in the future.

A: Anyone who has access to a transaction account (checking or savings) in Online Banking is eligible to use the Bill Pay service. You can pay virtually anyone you want using Bank Independent Bill Pay, as long as they have a valid US mailing address.  There is no limit to the number of payees you can set up within Bill Pay. You cannot pay a government agency or court-ordered obligation, and payments to an address outside the US are not allowed.

To sign up for Bill Pay, simply log in to your Bank Independent Online Banking account then click “Manage payments” within the “Move money” menu. Simply follow the online prompts to complete your enrollment for Bill Pay and you can begin using it immediately.

A: When you are ready to set up your first bill in Bill Pay, simply add a payee, select your funding account, and schedule a payment.  You can select a default funding account from “Manage payments” within the “Move money” menu.

A: When scheduling your payment, you tell us the payment amount and the due date of the payment for the payee.   Your payment is sent to the payee either by check or electronically to insure the payee receives the payment on the due date you’ve designated.

A: An eBill is an electronic bill presentment process.  After you have established this service within Bill Pay, your electronic bills will pull automatically into Bill Pay each month.  Then it’s just a matter of clicking on the bill to make your payment.  No separate login is required.  Please note that you must have login credentials established with your payee in order to utilize this convenient feature.  Some electronic payees may not be available for this service.

A: Certain fees will apply to services within Bill Pay for business. There are no fees for regular payments from personal accounts within personal Bill Pay. However, some additional options will result in minimal additional fees, such as rush payments.  Fees for these services will be displayed within Bill Pay.

A: Yes, it is possible. Our Bill Pay service performs a periodic review of payment types. If we find that your payment type can be changed from the check to electronic type, our system will automatically make that change. If a payee no longer accepts electronic payments, your payee would then be changed to a check payment type. This is done to send payments to your payees in the fastest, most efficient and secure way possible.  If you wish to be notified of a payment type change, please click on the Bill Pay “Options” menu, and select “eNotifications” to choose the alerts you’d like to receive.

A: Bank Independent personal Bill Pay has a predetermined limit of $5000 per day; however, this does not mean that your payment(s) cannot be processed.  Any payment(s) over the $5000 daily limit will simply be sent to your payee via check rather than electronically.  Upon entering payments exceeding the $5000 daily limit, you will receive a notification that your payment(s) will exceed the predetermined limit, and you will be prompted to enter a remittance address and refresh the date to complete your payment scheduling.  To request a predetermined limit over $5000, please call Customer Service at (256) 386-5000 or (877) 865-5050.

A: Bill payments do not process on non-business days.  For recurring payments, you have the option to select the payment date to be the business day before or the business day after the weekend or holiday when you set up your payment.

A: Bill Pay history is maintained for 18 months.

A: The status field may have one of the following entries:

• Processed:  Your payment has been processed and sent
• Rejected NSF:  Your payment has been rejected due to insufficient funds in the funding account
• Communication Failure:  There was an error due to communication problems
• Vendor Refund:  Your payment was rejected and your checking account will be refunded

A: You may set up payments in any of the following frequencies:  One-time, weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually.  A recurring scheduled payment can be set up in advance for any date in the future.  A one-time payment can be set up to be sent five years into the future.

A: Yes. Any text entered in the memo field will print on the check.  The account number that you entered when adding the payee to your personal payee list is also printed on the check.  This lets the payee know to which account the payment should be applied.

A: If your payment has not yet been processed (as noted on your Bill Pay screen), you can cancel the payment from within Bill Pay.  If the payment was remitted electronically and has already been processed, you may not stop the payment.  You can stop payment on “check” bill payments if they have not yet cleared your account. Stop payments can be placed by calling Customer Service at (256) 386-5000 or (877) 865-5050 Monday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central Time to speak with a Bank Independent representative.  Please note that fees may apply to stop payment requests.

A: To postdate a single payment, just set the payment date for any date in the future.  Single payments are actually set up in two categories, current payments and future payments, which allow you to schedule payments in the future or for the current date.  Current date payment will be sent to your payee the same day (Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays) if entered prior to 3:00p.m. Central Time.

Recurring payments can also be postdated. For example, if a monthly recurring payment is set up to be paid on the 15th and the current date is November 12, a payment will be scheduled for the month of November and set up to occur the 15th of every month until the expiration date is reached.  However, if the payment is set up to be paid on the 15th and the current date is November 16, the first payment will occur on December 15.

A: You may edit a payee address for check payments, but for electronic payments, you must establish them as a new payee with the correct address and delete the old payee record. The only items you can edit on an existing electronic payee are the nickname you’ve assigned to the payee and your account number with the payee. If you’d like to change any other information about the payee, such as the mailing address, the payee must be deleted and re-entered. On check payees, however, all fields may be edited.

A: These actions must take place prior to 3:00 p.m. Central Time (Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays) in order for processing to begin on the same day.  Entries, edits and deletions made after 3:00 p.m. will be processed on the following business day.  You may edit the dollar amount on a recurring scheduled payment as early as the next business day after the scheduled payment date.

A: Once you have set up your new payee, visit the dashboard payee listing within Bill Pay. The delivery method of your payment will be listed with the payee information.

A: If you have no scheduled or recurring bill payments for three months, your Bill Pay functionality within Online Banking may be disabled.

A: Your payment will be submitted to the payee and handled in the same manner as a check written out of your checkbook against an insufficient balance.

A: This option within Bank Independent Online Banking allows you to electronically transfer funds from your Bank Independent personal checking and savings accounts to those you hold at other financial institutions.

A: Personal checking and savings accounts are eligible for transfers to and from your Bank Independent accounts.

A: If you have been an Online Banking customer for thirty days and your accounts are in good standing, the "Bank-to-Bank Transfer" option will be enabled for you within your Online Banking account.

A: You can schedule a one-time transfer, or schedule recurring transfers to occur at weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly or monthly intervals.

A: There is no fee.