Notice to our Online and Mobile Banking Users

Effective December 15th, 2025, we are no longer sending verification codes to email addresses when logging in. To help keep your information even more secure, we are encouraging you to use an Authenticator App for Online and Mobile Banking verification. The Authenticator App will be present when logging in and when accessing features in your Online Banking such as:

  • Updating contact information

  • Initiating and Maintaining External Accounts

  • Accessing Credit Card Accounts in Card Management

  • Accessing Bill Pay

  • Accessing Virtual Strong Box

Why Are We Making This Change?

As your Trusted Financial Partner, protecting your accounts is our highest priority. As fraud tactics continue to evolve, we are taking proactive steps to ensure your Online and Mobile Banking experience remains secure. Email is more vulnerable to compromise, which can allow fraudsters to access or update account information without your knowledge. By strengthening our verification process with an Authenticator App, we are adding a more reliable, secure layer of protection to safeguard your accounts and personal information.

Understanding Authenticator Apps

Authenticator Apps—such as Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator—generate time-sensitive, one-time passcodes directly on your Mobile Device. These codes serve as a second layer of authentication, confirming that you are the one trying to access or update your account. This adds protection far beyond a password alone.

Using your Mobile Device’s Authenticator App provides two key advantages over receiving codes by text message, email, or phone call:

1. Stronger Security

  • Authenticator Apps generate verification codes locally on your device, meaning the code never travels through email, text, or phone networks—channels that can be intercepted or redirected by fraudsters. Because the codes refresh every 30 seconds, they provide an additional layer of real-time security that makes unauthorized access significantly more difficult.

2. Works Without Cell Service

  • If you’re somewhere with Wi-Fi but limited cell reception, authenticator apps continue to work seamlessly. You can still access your verification codes even when text messages or phone calls cannot come through, helping to avoid login delays or interruptions.

How to Set Up Your Authenticator App

  • Choose which Authenticator App you would like to download to your Mobile Device. Below are a few options:

    • Google Authenticator

    • Microsoft Authenticator

    • DUO

    • Or your current Authenticator App already downloaded to your Mobile Device

  • Login to your Online Banking with Username and Password

  • 2 Factor Authentication

    • Get a Code by Text

    • Answer a Challenge Question

  • Once logged in, a box will prompt your to Set Up Your App

    • Click “Secure My Account”

  • Open your downloaded Authenticator App and follow the prompts in the Authenticator App to add Serve Credit Union

    • Add by scanning QR Code or manually entering the provided code

  • Once Serve Credit Union has been successfully added to your Authenticator App, enter the verification code generated by the Authenticator App

  • Well done! You’ve taken an important step towards protecting your accounts and personal information!

Support Articles

For additional guidance, please reference the below articles: