How we protect you
To ensure your account is secure, we have several security features. Your security is important to us, and we want you to be able to invest, safe in the knowledge that you and your money are protected.
Logging in
When you log in to your account, you’ll need to have two pieces of information to hand:
- Your username
- Your password
If it’s the first time you’re logging in (or you’re using a new device or browser), you’ll also need to enter a one-time code. This lets us check that it’s you and keeps your account secure. You can choose to receive this one-time code by text, email or via an authenticator app.
Keeping your details safe
If you want to check what you’ve typed into the password box, just click the ‘eye’ icon. But when you do, be aware of the following security considerations:
- Be wary of anyone looking over your shoulder.
- Don’t leave your computer unattended with the password box filled in (but not submitted).
- Avoid using it if your computer is being accessed remotely (for example by a tech support person).
- If you notice anything different on the login page, don’t enter your details – instead, contact us.
Locked account
If your password is entered incorrectly three times, your account will be locked. This is to stop a fraudster attempting multiple combinations until they successfully access your account. If you lock your account by mistake, don’t worry – just call us on 0345 54 32 600 and we’ll unlock it for you after we've verified your identity.
Secure encryption
To ensure your data can't be intercepted and read, we use 256-bit SSL encryption between your browser and our servers. You can see that this encryption is in place from the padlock icon in your address bar.
We also make sure that every page on the AJ Bell website can only be accessed via https (SSL). This guarantees your browser can't visit our site without the safeguard of SSL encryption.
We encourage you to keep your browser up to date, to benefit from the latest encryption ciphers we support. Encryption ciphers scramble the data you give us to keep it secure.
Payments
When you use your debit card to pay money into your AJ Bell account, we use a secure system called Stripe. You’ll be transferred to the Stripe website to enter your debit card details. We don’t access or store these details.
You can pay money into your Cash savings hub using open banking. The technology we use for this is provided by TrueLayer, who are also FCA-regulated. When you make a payment using open banking, your balance and account transaction information aren't shared with us or TrueLayer. Your bank login details also remain private.
Contacting us
If you contact us by phone, we’ll always ask you to identify yourself by asking for the information you gave us when you opened your account. We’ll never discuss the details of your account without verifying first that we’re speaking to you or your appointed representative.
Web chat
Our website has a web chat facility. We’re only able to answer general queries through web chat, as we haven’t yet verified your details – if your query is about your account, we’ll ask you to phone us or send us a secure message.
Secure message
You can contact us by secure message, which is a message direct from your account, and ensures the message doesn’t go outside our secure network.
It’s easy to send a secure message; simply log in to your account and click secure messaging on the ‘My account’ menu. Here, you can view messages we have sent you, or send us a message by clicking on ‘New message’, then write your message and click ‘Submit’.