Blog

Mar 6, 2020, 17:01 PM

Much has been written about preparing at home for a coronavirus outbreak, like stocking up on food, medicine, and water.  It’s also good to make sure you’re prepared to bank electronically if there is an outbreak.

Hopefully, things never get this bad in the Omaha area, but some communities in different places have been significantly disrupted.  Schools have been closed, as have many businesses, and in extremely severe cases people have been asked to stay at home except when meeting food and healthcare needs.  Businesses, including financial institutions, maybe operating shorthanded which could lead to long hold times on the phone and delays in service.

Banking and the Coronavirus: Electronic Banking

Here are some things you can do to ensure you have access to your accounts before a possible disruption in normal banking services.

 

• Test your Home/Mobile Banking Usernames and Passwords Ensure you have access to your accounts via your phone and home computer.  If you haven’t set up Home/Mobile yet, now is a great time.
• Test your Credit and Debit Cards Many of us use our cards regularly, but some don’t.  If you haven’t used your cards in a while, it might not be a bad idea to make sure they are working by using each card to make a purchase.
• Set up Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) Metro offers RDC to members through our Mobile Banking app.  With this service, you can take a photograph of your check and deposit it without ever bringing the physical check-in.  Because the coronavirus can live on surfaces, RDC might be an important service if you think you’ll be getting checks.
• Ensure you have ATM Access In a severe outbreak, even retail banking branches could be closed.  You can ensure you have access to cash by validating your PINs on Debit Cards, and even Credit Cards as a last resort. Find MoneyPass ATM locations.

Metro Credit Union in Omaha, Nebraska

Also, please remember that criminals look for any opportunity they can find to take advantage of people.  Criminals could use the coronavirus as a pretext to call or email you with some “emergency” that requires your card number right away.  Financial institutions and government agencies never call you asking for this information.  Never give your card numbers or personal information to someone calling you (even if they give you a number to call them back)!

Again, hopefully, the number of cases in our area remains low, but in the event, we are affected by the virus, a few simple steps now can save you a lot of time and frustration in the future.  If you have any questions about your accounts, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 402-551-3052.