FAQ Home Banking

Q. What password should I use for Home Banking?
A. Use your P.A.T. access code. P.A.T. is our free 24 hour audio response service. If you haven't already signed up for P.A.T., just call us at (281) 856-5300 or (800) 456-3228 and we can set you up over the phone. When entering your P.A.T. Access code, be sure to enter in numbers or letters (letters are case sensitive).

Q. Why can't I get into Home Banking?
A. If you are unable to get into the Home Banking section, you may not be using the proper browser. For security reasons, we require that your browser be secure. We recommend Netscape Navigator version 8+, Internet Explorer 6.0+ or the latest version of Firefox. You can download Netscape by going to their site, download Internet Explorer by going to their site, download Firefox by going to their site or from the Home Banking page. You should have an "unbroken" key at the bottom of your screen if you are using a secure Netscape browser.

Q. Why can't I access my account history?
A. You only have access to as much history as we have stored on our system. Depending on your level of activity, it may be just a few months or much longer.

Q. I keep getting strange error messages as I try to get into Home Banking, such as "can't access mosaic-spry". What do they mean?
A. Each service provider has their own error messages, so you will need to check with your Internet Service Provider. If you see the message "Broker Shutdown", that means that the link between the firewall and First Community is down. During this time, you will be unable to use the Home Banking features. If you have any other questions, please e-mail us and we will respond as soon as possible. For assistance during business hours, please call (281) 856-5300 or 800-456-3228.

Q. I'm trying to transfer money from my savings to my checking and keep getting an error message. Why?
A. Transactions may not process due to a restriction set by a federal requirement called Regulation D. During any month, you may not make more than six withdrawals or transfers from your Savings account to another credit union account of yours by means of pre-authorized or automatic transfer (including overdraft), telephone requests or online. If you have met your maximum transfers during the month a error message will appear. Please visit one of our eight locations or any ATM to process your transaction succesfully.

Q. Why is my ACCOUNT BALANCE different from my AVAILABLE BALANCE in Home Banking?
A. Your Savings Account requires $5 to keep it open, so if your ACCOUNT BALANCE is at $300, your AVAILABLE BALANCE will be $295. As for your checking acccount, when you use your Visa^® DEBIT as a 'credit' transaction instead of as a 'debit' transaction, the amount purchased is put on hold in your checking account until the transaction posts. Once the transaction posts, it will be subtracted from your account and reflected on your checking ACCOUNT BALANCE.

Q. I'm having trouble paying off my loan balance. My loan balance was $2,933.05, so I transferred $2,933.05 to that loan account but my loan account showed that I still had a remaining balance of $7.34. Why?
A. Paying off the LOAN BALANCE will not pay your loan off completely. You must pay the the LOAN PAYOFF AMOUNT in order to truly pay off your loan. If you only pay the LOAN BALANCE amount you will still have a remaining balance consisting of the simple interest accrued from the date of the last payment. In this case, $7.34.
The initial ACCOUNT ACCESS screen you come to in Home Banking will only display the LOAN BALANCES for your existing loans - in order to view your LOAN PAYOFF AMOUNT, you will need to click on the the link that corresponds to the particular loan account you wish to view. This will take you to the screen that displays the LOAN PAYOFF AMOUNT. Please note that the payoff you see on this screen is only good for the current date and changes each day. For a payoff amount on a future date please feel free to contact our Call Center at (281) 856-5300 or 800-456-3228 during normal business hours.

Q. When using Home Banking to make my transfers or payments will the transaction be posted immediately?
A. The transaction will be posted immediately to your account on Home Banking, however, the effective date of the transaction is determined by the date on our system at the time of the transaction. Funds are available immediately but transactions made after business hours will be effective as of the next business day. For a complete list of our business hours visit the Information section of our site.

Q. How do I schedule account transfers and "reminders" in Home Banking?
A. If you need to schedule account tranfers in Home Banking, you will need to use the Schedule Transfers feature provided in the main menu. The Schedule Transfers feature allows you to transfer amounts at scheduled times between your accounts. Transfers may be added, edited, or deleted at your discretion. The scheduled transfer screen shows the scheduled process date, the frequency of the transfers, the amount to be transferred, the From account, the To account, and account numbers. If you setup to send Email confirmations, the added benefit of an Email confirmation message later confirms the scheduled transfer has been processed.