What is two-factor authentication?

When you're completing certain actions on your account, e.g. setting up a new payment, you’ll need to enter your password, 6-digit security code and a verification code we will send to you by text message or email. It's important that you never tell anyone your verification code. There are also situations that may need you to enter a verification code, for example viewing your statements, transactions or accessing your planned payments.

How do I update my contact number and/or email address?

You can update your contact number or email address in a number of ways.

Using our mobile banking app:

Log in to our mobile banking app
Choose “My settings and details” from the main menu
At the bottom of the screen select “Update number or email”
You can then update the details you need to.

We will ask you to verify the change by using your fingerprint, passnumber or Face ID.

Using online banking:

Log in to online banking
Visit your "Profile" and select 'Change your contact details'
You can change your email address or contact number in the fields provided.

You’ll need to enter your password, 6-digit security code and a verification code we will send to you by text message or email. It's important that you never tell anyone your verification code. When changing your contact details, we will send a verification code to the mobile number or email address we currently have for you, not your updated details.

No risk policy

If you’re ever a victim of financial fraud - and you took all necessary precautions to protect your personal details - we’ll refund the amount that was fraudulently taken from your account. We can’t be held responsible, however, for any consequential losses.

We won’t refund you if you:

Gave your security details to someone else.
Provided us with the wrong payment instructions.
Didn’t log out of online/mobile banking and didn’t take due care of your account details.
Failed to let us know about any security breaches, including potential security breaches.
Acted fraudulently.
Haven't exercised all due care and diligence when allowing an authorised Third Party Provider access to your account.
Haven’t complied with our terms and conditions.

Automated Messaging Service

In the course of protecting you from fraudulent activity, we may contact you by telephone, text message or email using our automated messaging service. This enables us to swiftly find potentially fraudulent payments made on your account and halt fraud at the earliest stage we can.

How do I know if a text asking me to confirm a transaction is from smile?

If we have a working mobile number for you and need to check suspect activity on your account, we may send you an automated text message. When you respond, we’ll know if you made the transaction or not.

This text will:

Include details of your transaction
Ask you to respond by text 'yes' or 'no', to confirm if you made the transaction

We will never ask you for any personal or security details via a text message and we will never include a link in a message that asks you to login to our online banking login page. If you receive a text message asking for this, it is not from smile - do not respond.

Remember we will never ask you to provide verification codes or token codes over the phone.

If you have any concerns about a text message - do not respond. Always stop and think. Please do not attempt to call back the phone number from which you received the text message, instead, contact us.

Please also forward any scam texts or emails claiming to be from us to ihaveseenascam@co-operativebank.co.uk

For more information regarding the cost of text messages, please contact your mobile network provider.

How do I know if an automated call is from smile?

If you do get an automated call from us, we’ll clearly say who it is for and proceed through the following steps:

We’ll verify who you are
Give you some information regarding your recent payments
Ask you to confirm, through the use of your phone’s keypad, if you made the payment.
End the phone call, provided you are the one who actually made the payments - if you didn’t, we’ll promptly connect you to one of our advisors

If we can’t get hold of you, we may leave you voicemail message, text message or email asking for you to get in touch with our customer service team.

You can call them on +44(0)345 401 9127 or +44(0)345 355 2430. ( Call charges )

How can I tell if an automated call or text message isn’t from smile?

Our automated phone call, text message or email messaging services will not ask you for any of the following information:

Your account numbers or card details
Your telephone or online banking login, or other sensitive information
Your PIN or verification code

We will also never ask you to:

Call a telephone number that isn’t one of our dedicated Caller Line Identification (CLI) numbers - these numbers are +44(0)345 401 9127, +44(0)345 355 2430.
Click on a link within a text message or email which asks for you to input your online banking login details, or any other security details

If you’re worried that a call, text, email or social media message you have received is fraudulent - or you fear you may have revealed your banking or security information - please contact us as soon as possible.

Call charges for automated messages

Text message responses regarding Automated Text Alerts are charged at the standard rate by your provider. If you are replying from abroad this cost may be higher. For further information on text message costs, please contact your network provider.

Verified by Visa

Adding an extra layer of defence to your online checkout process, Verified by Visa helps protect your card against unauthorised use.

What is it?

It’s a simple, free service that helps verify that it is you making a payment.

Once you are registered for the Verified by Visa (VbV) scheme, you may be asked to confirm three characters from your VbV passcode or memorable name each time you make an online transaction with a participating retailer.

If you enter characters from your VbV passcode or memorable name incorrectly, we’ll not be able to confirm that it’s you.

How to register for Verified by Visa

We automatically register all of our customers cards with the Verified by Visa (VbV) service as it significantly increases protection from online fraudulent transactions. Depending on the type of card you are using, you may be asked to register a new VbV passcode the first time you use the Verified by Visa service. If this is the case, simply follow the online instructions shown in the Verified by Visa window.

Need further info?

Find more details about Verified by Visa on the VbV website

Card security

We use the latest technology to guard your cards from fraudsters and keep your payments extra secure.

Chip and PIN

Keeping your security details safe

Chip and Personal Identification Number (PIN) technology is arguably the most effective way to keep your credit and debit card secure. As long as you keep it confidential.

Chip and PIN technology works by checking the PIN you enter against the chip on the card. So no-one can use it except you, providing you keep your security details safe and secure.

Changing your PIN

If you believe someone knows your PIN, or you need to change it, then visit a Co-operative Bank cash machine and change your security details from there.

Find a cash machine

Lost or stolen card

If your card is lost or stolen, then it's important to report it to us as soon as possible. Please contact us immediately:

+44(0)345 600 6000 ( Call charges ).

We'll cancel your account and help to reduce the risk of fraudulent activity by sending out a new debit/credit card and PIN in the post.

If there's a transaction on your statement you don't recognise, please contact us immediately:

+44(0)3457 212 212 - for current account customers

+44(0)345 600 6000 - for credit card customers

+44(0)3457 213 213 - for business banking customers

Online and mobile banking

When banking online, we go to great lengths to keep you protected. Here’s how we do it.

What we do to keep you safe

Protect your money

When paying someone new we will check that you’re confident about who you are paying. We’ll do this by guiding you through tailored information about the type of payment you’re making. If you don't want to continue or you're unsure about making the payment, you'll have the option to cancel it and contact us to discuss your concerns.

Encryption technology

To help keep your identity and financial information protected, we use up-to-date encryption technology to prevent unwanted users from accessing your private information.

Fraud detection systems

We employ various forms of fraud detection and frequently check your account(s) for suspicious activity. We also utilise verification codes to protect your account when you set up a new payment online.

New Payees

When paying someone new we will check that you’re confident about who you are paying. We’ll do this by guiding you through tailored information and providing the option to cancel it and discuss your concerns.

Secured login

When you use our online or mobile banking services, you will have to follow our registration process. This helps us make sure it is you registering for and accessing the service and not an imposter.

Timed log-out

Logged in to online banking but haven’t done anything for 10 minutes? We’ll log you out.

Trusteer Rapport

Along with our own security measures, we also recommend this free piece of security software to all our customers.

Trusteer Rapport is an online protection tool, a completely free one, that: keeps you safe from online attacks, lets you know if you’re visiting an authentic online banking webpage and works in harmony with your anti-virus software. It’ll even warn you if an attack, attempting to steal your banking or login details, is about to take place.

We thoroughly recommend using Trusteer Rapport. It will protect you when you bank online and will work in tandem with your firewall and anti-virus software, adding an extra barrier between you and any fraudsters. You can download Trusteer Rapport, free of charge, from their website.

How we protect customers

What we do to guard your money

Report fraud