Banking Safely

This industry wide service checks if the account owner name matches the account number of the person or business you are paying before you make a payment. It applies when you are making new one-off payments or setting up new payees and tells you whether the details are a match, partial match or not a match before you decide to proceed further.

As an added layer of protection when making certain payments, we will ask you a few questions including the reason for the payment, so you can stop and take a moment before continuing. During this process, we’ll also share helpful information about common scam types so you can feel informed and confident when completing your payment.

2-step verification (Safeguard) is our system that looks at transactions and activity online for any unusual behaviour. This gives you an extra layer of security when banking online.

For certain transactions, we’ll send a one‑time PIN to your registered NZ mobile, which you’ll need to enter before it expires.

We use 24 hour fraud monitoring on our Debit Mastercard and Fair Rate Credit Card. As provided in our Terms and Conditions, you'll be covered by the bank for loss under Mastercard’s Zero Liability Protection policy. This policy concerns how we aim to protect you from unauthorised activity on your card, provided that you have adhered to our Terms and Conditions, including by:

• using reasonable care in protecting your card from loss or theft; and
• promptly reporting the loss or theft to your financial institution.

Our specialist team analyses online banking activity to help keep you and your money safe. If they get in touch with you, it means they’ve noticed something that looks suspicious and they may need to confirm whether a transaction was authorised by you. You may also receive a text message asking you to give us a call.

Our team will never ask you for confirmation of your security details or password and you shouldn’t disclose this information to anyone. If in doubt, hang up and call back on 0800 554 554.

Our Online Promise aims to protect you against losses you may incur through unauthorised transactions on your Co‑operative Bank accounts if you’re the victim of Internet Banking fraud as long as you have followed the necessary precautions and have not contributed to the losses through your actions.

Our Internet Banking and the Mobile App will automatically log you out following 10 minutes of inactivity. Additionally, if a password is entered wrong three times this service will be locked.

You can also set up and customise alerts to notify you of logins, large withdrawals, EFTPOS transactions, or changes to payees—giving you real‑time visibility of your account activity.

Mastercard® ID Check is an extra layer of security that helps us check it’s you (and not someone pretending to be you with your card) when shopping online. Find out more about Mastercard® ID Check.

Never write down, save or share your PIN or passwords with anyone – including friends and family. Make sure your PIN and passwords are unique and hard to guess, make them different and change them regularly. If you lose your card, block it immediately via our Mobile app or Internet Banking.

Remember that banks and trusted organisations will never contact you asking for your PIN or passwords. If someone is asking for something that doesn’t feel right, remember it’s always ok to question it and say no – even if it feels impolite. Scammers rely on people being naturally trusting or believing stories that are too good to be true.

Scams are continually evolving so it’s good to educate yourself on what to look out for. See our Common Scams page for information on what to look out for and ways you can help keep yourself safe.

Delete emails from people or organisations you don’t recognise and don’t click on any links in them.

Be cautious when receiving phone calls from people claiming to be from reputable organisations. Trust your instincts and if something doesn’t feel right, ask to call them back on a number found on their official website. If they are pressuring you to act quickly or keep secrets from your bank or friends and family, these are red flags.

Don’t enter your card details into any pop-up ads or website links that you didn’t instigate.

Sometimes you may discover activity on your account or card that strikes you as unusual or you might think you didn’t make the transaction. If this happens and you’re concerned, firstly temporarily block your card via our Mobile app or Internet Banking to prevent further activity from happening. Call our Contact Centre on 0800 554 554 or your local branch to notify them of the unusual activity on your account.

Next, we ask you to consider if this may be related to a genuine transaction that you participated in. Transactions made online can often appear differently to what is expected, or may be reflected under a different trading name than the merchant you engaged with. It could be worth searching for the company name online to find out more information about them.

If you still have concerns, contact the bank directly to discuss the unusual activity further. Our staff will ask a few questions to help us understand the situation. Our team will investigate and be in touch with you to discuss the matter further.