Personal Banking Frequently Asked Questions

Still have a few unanswered questions? Banking isn’t always easy. We’ve heard your questions and put together a list of answers to help you get started.

From general banking terms, to online and mobile services, to questions about overdraft protection, we are here to help you understand the ins and outs of our offerings.

Stop by any Jefferson Bank location to learn more.

General Banking FAQs

A cashier's check is a check guaranteed by a bank. It is also known as a cashier's check, bank check, official check, teller's check, bank draft or treasurer's check. They are usually treated as cash because most banks clear them instantly.

Visit your local financial center to request a cashier's check.

A Savings Bond is a certificate of debt issued by the government that guarantees payment of the original debt plus interest after a specified future date. Series EE bonds are purchased at half of the face value, and Series I bonds are purchased at face value.

A Home Equity Loan is a loan that borrows against the equity in your home. The interest on a home equity loan cost less than the interest on credit cards. Unlike credit card debt, interest on the first $100,000 of a home-equity line generally is tax-deductible.

A Certificate of Deposit, or commonly referred to as a CD, is a certificate issued by a financial institution confirming a particular deposit. A CD has a maturity date, a specified interest rate, and can be issued in any denomination

Health Savings Accounts (HSA) give consumers another option for managing the high costs of healthcare. With HSAs, consumers have more control over their money. They can invest their money for current and future medical expenses and grow it tax-free. Unlike flexible spending accounts, which are controlled by employers and have a use-it-or-lose-it limitation, HSAs are portable and belong to the consumer for life. HSAs prove especially beneficial for small businesses. Traditional health care insurance is often too expensive for small businesses to offer. With a high-deductible plan and corresponding HSA, business owners can offer employees the health care security they need.

We all have busy lives, and sometimes mistakes just happen. Instead of getting charged for bouncing a check, we have several options you can use to cover yourself in a pinch.

With Cash Reserve, you will receive an instant loan when you overdraw your account. If you pay off the loan quickly, you will pay much less than you would have with the bounced check fee. See your bank for details.

You can also avoid fees on returned checks by linking your credit card to your checking account. We'll automatically transfer funds from your credit card to cover the amount.

Our Direct Connect service allows you to conveniently access your accounts directly through your Quicken® or QuickBooks® software. With Direct Connect, you can download account activity and complete account transfers easily online.

When you make a deposit to your account, we most often make the deposited funds available the next business day. But sometimes, we place a hold on a deposit. This means you may not have access to those funds as soon as the next business day.

The availability of funds depends on a number of factors, including how, when and where you made the deposit.

When you deposit cash with a teller, funds are usually available immediately if the deposit was made before the cut-off time.

This is also true if you make a deposit at an ATM or if you deposit a check written to you.

A memo post is a transaction that has not yet posted but is temporarily included in the current day's available balance until the nightly ledger update. The transaction is processed and cleared for the next day.

No. An eStatement contains the exact same information as the paper statement that you receive in the mail. With an image statement, instead of the actual check, there will be a picture of each check you have written for the month. Imaged-checking customers say that this makes checkbook reconciliations much easier and faster.

Overdraft Protection FAQs

An overdraft occurs when you do not have enough money in your account to cover a payment you have authorized, but the bank pays it as an accommodation, trusting that you will repay the amount of the overdraft.

  1. We have standard overdraft practices that come with your account.
  2. We all have busy lives, and sometimes mistakes just happen. Instead of getting charged for bouncing a check, we have several different options you can use to cover yourself in a pinch. With Cash Reserve, you will receive an instant loan when you overdraw your account. If you pay it off the loan quickly, you will pay much less than you would have with the bounced check fee. You can also avoid fees on returned checks by linking your credit card to your checking account. We'll automatically transfer funds from your credit card to cover the amount.

The amendment prohibits financial institutions from charging consumers fees for paying overdrafts on ATM and everyday debit card transactions, unless a consumer consents in advance, or “opts-in,” to the overdraft service for those types of transactions.

No. Unless you have signed up to link your checking account to another account such as an overdraft line of credit, the bank does not guarantee that your ATM and everyday debit card transaction will be paid even if you opt-in. These standard overdraft services are an accommodation provided at the bank’s discretion.

No. There are limited circumstances when it will not be possible for the bank to avoid paying an ATM or other debit card transaction you made, even if there is not enough money in your account. You should not assume that because the ATM or other debit card transaction goes through that there is enough money in your account to cover it. In these cases, the bank may not charge you an overdraft fee, but you still must re-pay the bank to cover the overdraft.

The easiest way to avoid overdrafts is to keep track of your transactions and balance. Alerts are a great way for you to stay informed about activity of your accounts. You can receive timely notifications via email or text messages to your cell phone. We’ll send you an alert if your account balance falls below a specified amount, if a direct deposit is made to your account, and for many other financial situations of your choosing. To sign up for alerts, log in to your Online Banking account.

If you want to keep the standard overdraft protection services on your debit card, you may choose to do one of the following:

  • Log in to your Online Banking account
  • Speak with a Customer Service Representative
  • Visit us at any of our convenient branch locations

Bill Pay FAQs

As a part of Online Banking and Mobile Banking, Bill Pay will make your life easier by eliminating checks, envelopes and stamps. You tell us whom you want to pay and when, and with a click of a mouse, your bills are paid.

Bill Pay is available on Free Checking for a monthly fee. With MyChoice Checking and Preferred Interest, there is no monthly charge or fees for using Bill Pay, as long as you receive your bank statement electronically. Bill Pay is free on all other account options.

There is no limit to the number of bills you can pay.

We do not take money out of your account in advance of the payment date. Funds are paid to your biller by either electronic draft or paper check drawn on your account.

No, only checking accounts or money market accounts can be used for bill payment purposes.

Our Bill Pay system is available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. However, the cut-off time for each business day is 3:00 p.m. CST. After this time, each request will be processed the following business day. Bill Pay, along with Online and Mobile Banking, may be unavailable at certain times for brief periods due to system maintenance.

It depends. Sometimes payments can be sent directly to a business electronically if we have a banking relationship with them. Other times, a check must be cut and mailed to them. Typically, if the item can be sent electronically, it will arrive in 1-2 business days. If the check has to be mailed, it may take up to 4 business days to arrive based upon the speed of mail delivery. However, you do have the option to rush a payment.

You can pay virtually anyone in the United States from credit cards companies, mortgage companies, auto loans and department stores to the newspaper carrier. We are able to process any payments to federal, state, local tax agencies and court-ordered payments; however, no payment guarantee will be associated with these payments.

Click on My Payees under the Pay Bills tab. Here’s the information you will need when setting up a payee: payee name and mailing address, payee phone number, and the account number if you have one associated with the payee. You can assign nicknames so you can easily identify payees.

You may setup a payee and schedule the first payment in the same session.

Recurring payments can be scheduled for up to one year from today's date.

A maximum limit of $25,000 per payee each business day is imposed for standard payments. For expedited payments, is limit is $10,000 per payee each business day.

You have until 3:00 p.m. CST on the day the payment is to be sent to edit or delete a payment. To do so, simply visit the Bill Pay Center within the 'Pay Bills' tab. Under 'Scheduled Payments', locate the payment you have scheduled. In the far right column under 'Status,' click on the link, 'Edit', to make changes to your bill payment. You can click 'Delete' to stop the payment from being made.

An expedited payment is a payment that is delivered to the payee faster than standard payments, typically overnight. These payments are subject to a nominal convenience fee that is automatically debited from your funding account.

Transfers can be edited or deleted until 6:00 p.m. CST on the day they are scheduled to be sent.

For security reasons, your Online Banking session will timeout after 15 minutes of inactivity (this is, if you have submitted any transactions or clicked on any new pages). Our Online Banking is designed this way to provide you with maximum security in case you forget to log out.

Security begins with your browser. To protect transactions, we only accept logins originating from a browser that supports the highest level of encryption (128-bit). Encryption prevents transactions from being read by unauthorized parties over the Internet. For Online Banking, we recommend you use one of the latest two versions.

Direct Connect FAQs

Direct Connect enables you to integrate your banking with you accounting software. With Intuit Quicken®/QuickBooks® you may connect directly to the bank’s OFX server to request account transactions, initiate transfers and send payment requests.

Open Financial Exchange (OFX) is the industry standard for electronic transfer of financial data between financial institutions (FIs), businesses and consumers via the Internet. OFX streamlines the delivery of financial information from our bank to your computer.

Direct Connect supports the current year's version and two prior years of Quicken® and QuickBooks®.

Yes, Direct Connect is fully secured with support for 128-bit encryption. We authenticate your identity based upon your User ID and Password.

Direct Connect can help you conveniently track your expenses, budget your money and keep your finances updated. You can download transactions, update account balances and manage your bank accounts directly with us. You can also transfer funds between your accounts with Direct Connect and pay bills with your accounting software.

You can download all transactions listed for the last 45 days.

eStatement FAQs

An eStatement is identical to your paper statement but is delivered in an electronic document. It helps eliminate paperwork and gives you a quick, easy and secure way to access your monthly bank statement. By turning off your paper statement and receiving all your statements online, you are doing your part to help the environment.

Within Online Banking, you can find your bank statements under the "Statements & Documents". You can also find your tax documents under “Statements & Documents” and select “Tax Documents”.

Within BusinessLink Online Banking, you can find your bank statements under the "Home" tab and select "View Statements and Notices". We'll send you an email notification when your statement is available.

You will be notified by email each time that your statement is available to view within BusinessLink Online Banking.  

Sign up online by logging into Online Banking and visiting "Delivery Preferences" under “Statements & Documents”. Select which accounts you would like to receive electronic statements and select “Save”. It's that easy.

An Administrator can sign up online by logging into BusinessLink Online Baking and visiting “Manager Paper Preferences” under “Home”. Select which accounts you would like to receive electronic statements and select “Save Changes”. The Administrator on the account can assign rights to others.

If you sign up for an eStatement, you will no longer receive paper statements in the mail. All of your statements will be available online. If for some reason you are still receiving a paper statement and getting an eStatement, please contact the bank to turn off your paper statement.

eStatements are available online for up to 7 years.

Your eStatements will be the exact same as your paper statements. If you currently receive images of your checks written in your paper statement, you will still get images of those checks on your eStatement. If you have an eStatement without images of checks on it and would like to receive images of checks, please contact the bank.

Yes. You can print your eStatement.

Yes. You can save eStatements to your computer.

To view an eStatement online, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you may click on the Adobe link from our website and download the current Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Mobile Banking FAQs

With Mobile Banking, you have all the capabilities that you have in Online Banking but on your phone, tablet and more. Mobile Banking offers you the ability to check balances, transfer funds, pay bills, view statements and much more, all from the convenience of your smart phone or tablet. Use our mobile app to find a bank location near you.

This service is free to you. However, there may be charges associated with text messaging and data usage on your phone. Check with your wireless phone carrier for more information.

Yes, Mobile Banking uses best practices from Online Banking, such as HTTPS, 128-bit SSL encryption, multi-factor authentication for login and application time-out when your mobile phone or device is not in use. Additionally, no account data is ever stored on your phone or device.

You must first register for Online Banking before enrolling in Mobile Banking.

Enrollment for Mobile Banking is not necessary if you are already enrolled for Online Banking. Simply browse to our website from your smartphone or download our mobile app from your iPhone or Android's App Store. You will need to enroll in Text Banking via Online Banking.

To enroll in Text Banking, log in to Online Banking, select Account Services and then click on Set Up Text Banking and View Mobile Apps. After successful enrollment in Text Banking, your phone will receive a text message with the Text Banking short code, and your Online Banking email will receive an email with a list of commands.

Yes, you can access Mobile Banking by browsing to our website or by downloading our app to your smartphone AND still use Text Banking. Many of our customers do both. To enroll in Text Banking, simply log in to Online Banking, select Account Services, and click on Set Up Text Banking and View Mobile Apps.

Text Banking Commands:
B or BAL
Displays a summary of available balances for all accounts.

H or HIST
Displays a summary of recent transactions for an account.

M
More information on your transaction.

C
If you are enrolled for Text Banking at multiple banks, this command changes the affiliate bank you are using.

MENU
Displays a list of commands.

STOP
Deactivates all services tied to your phone number i.e. Text Banking and Alerts across all affiliate banks.

HELP
Support information to contact for further questions.

Text Banking gives you access to your accounts via text (SMS) messages on your phone. It's a fast, easy way to look up account balances and account history by sending a text command to a short code.

If you are concerned about misuse of your phone, contact your mobile service provider immediately to stop all wireless service. Additionally, log into Online Banking, select Accounts Services, and view Set Up Text Banking and View Mobile Apps. You can remove your device here. 

Log into Online Banking, select Account Services, and select Set Up Text Banking and View Mobile Apps.

A short code is a special 'short' telephone number that can be used in text (SMS) messages. All text messages to us should be sent to 83318.

Text Banking will work on any text message (SMS) capable phone from one of our supported carriers. We support all the popular US wireless phone carriers, including Alltel AWCC, Cincinnati Bell, Cricket, MetroPCS, T-Mobile, US Cellular, Verizon, AT&T Mobility, Boost, Sprint, Virgin Mobile. We may add carriers periodically.

An activation codes expire after 24 hours. If you need a new code, return to Online Banking, select Other Services, select Mobile Banking and click Manage Preferences.

Text Banking will provide access to all accounts that are available in Online Banking using the same account nicknames. Text (SMS) account nicknames can be updated in Online Banking.

Typically you should receive a text message within a few minutes after enrolling, however, sometimes mobile carriers experience delays which slow down text message delivery. While waiting, make sure your phone has wireless signal. Additionally, make sure you entered the correct phone number on the enrollment site. If you still do not receive it, contact your wireless carrier to be sure text messaging is enabled on your phone.

If you get a new phone or change phone numbers, be sure to return to Online Banking, select Other Services, select Mobile Banking and click deactivate next to your old number, and add your new mobile phone number in the same spot. Alternatively, you may also text “STOP” from the number you are giving up to deactivate all SMS messages to that number.

Yes. You may add multiple mobile phone numbers and use Text Banking.

Online Banking FAQs

We offer an advanced cash management Business Online Banking product called BusinessLink. This gives businesses the ability to view all account activity, transfer funds, pay bills, make commercial loan payments, place stop payments, wire funds, create ACH (Automated Clearing House) transactions, and much more. Stop by any of our bank locations for more information.

Yes. During the enrollment process, you will be prompted to create your own unique user ID and password. You can create any user ID and password you wish, as long as the user ID is not being used by another client.

If you forget your user ID, please call our Technical Support telephone number listed on the Log In page for Online Banking.

If you forget your Password, you can use the Forgot Password link on the Log In page to help you access your account. If you still need assistance, please call our Technical Support telephone number listed on the Log In page for Online Banking.

Bill Pay is a web-based service that provides you with a secure, convenient way to electronically initiate payments to businesses or individuals, which saves you having to buy checks and stamps.

Yes. You can schedule both one-time and recurring payments in advance.

It depends. Sometimes payments can be sent directly to a business electronically if we have a banking relationship with them. Other times, a check must be cut and mailed. Typically, if the item can be sent electronically, it will arrive in 1-2 business days. If the check has to be mailed, it may take up to 4 business days to arrive based upon the speed of mail delivery.

There are two ways to sign up for Online Banking:

  1. Enroll for Online Banking online now
  2. Come into any of our bank branches, and ask a Customer Service Representative to sign you up.

You will need either your debit card and card PIN or your Telephone Banking PIN and your personal information such as your name, email address and Social Security Number.

You will have immediate access to Online Banking once you sign up. You may go right out and view transactions, pay bills, view e-Statements and much more.

When an item has been posted to your account, it means that the transaction has cleared your account and the account balance is affected by the appropriate dollar amount. The transaction could be a paper check that you wrote or a deposit that you made to your account.

Alerts are a great way for you to stay informed about activity of your accounts. You can receive timely notifications via email or text messages to your cell phone alerting you if your account balance falls below a specified amount, if a direct deposit is made to your account, as well as many other notification options.

You can think of Live Chat as a real-time conversation with a professional support representative right from your computer. Through a secure channel, you chat one-on-one with a live representative to get answers without having to pick up the phone.

An electronic payment is any non-paper type of payment, such as using your credit card or PayPal™ for an online purchase or making a bill payment through online banking.

An EFT is an electronic payment, such as an ACH transaction or a wire transfer.

NACHA is the acronym for National Automated Clearing House Association. NACHA is a national payment association that develops the operating rules and business practices for the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network and for electronic payments in the areas of Internet Commerce, electronic bill payments and bill presentments, e-checks, Financial Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), international payments and electronic benefit transfer (EBT).

ACH refers to a funds transfer system which provides for clearing of electronic transactions between participating financial institutions. ACHs are governed by NACHA Operating Rules.

The banking routing number is a 9-digit number that identifies a specific financial institution. This number is used for payment processing and is also referred to as an ABA Number or Routing Transit Number. You can find this number on your paper checks, typically next to your account number.

Authentication is the process we use to identity that you are really who you say you are. This could be a series of questions that we ask about the most recent activity of your account or a question that only you know the answer to. In Online Banking you can think of your authentication as your user ID, password and secret word.

SSL is a security protocol for transmitting private documents via the Internet. Imagine sending mail through the postal system in a clear envelope. Anyone with access to it can see the data. An SSL Certification puts your data in a protected envelope to protect your data during transmission. Encryption scrambles the data so others can't read it.

Each SSL Certificate has a public key and a private key. The public key is used to encrypt information and the private key is used to decipher it. When your browser points to a secured domain (like our bank website and online banking), an SSL handshake authenticates the website and your computer.

You might notice that the address bar turns green when you access our website and Online Banking. This means that we are using the strongest encryption available. Also, the bank's name appears in the address bar. This assures you that you are on our site and not a site posing as the bank.