Cell phone now needed for Social Security AND Bank login

[OnMyWay]

54 minutes ago, davewe said:

I would like to hear more about what you were told about shutting down your accounts. I met with Fidelity last week to discuss my impending retirement and its impact on my retirement accounts. The guy had heard nothing about problems living abroad. So I would be curious.

PM sent.  Let me know if you got it because something strange seemed to happen.

Also, if you find out for sure that Fidelity has a new policy, let me know.

[Jollygoodfellow]

39 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

PM sent.  Let me know if you got it because something strange seemed to happen.

Also, if you find out for sure that Fidelity has a new policy, let me know.

Unless there is something that needs to be so private I do not understand why information can not be shared on the forum. Makes no sense.   

[OnMyWay]

4 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Unless there is something that needs to be so private I do not understand why information can not be shared on the forum. Makes no sense.   

I prefer not to share a personal letter from Fidelity on the open forum.

[Gentleman.Jack.Darby]

21 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Thanks for the details!  I can see how it might work for me.

Question:  So, if I ask Fidelity to activate VIP Access for me, my login screen will change and it will always have a spot to put in the OTP?

The first login screen will be the same one that you've always seen.

Once you enter your userID and password (the first step of two-factor authentication) then, assuming they're correct, you'll be sent to another screen where you'll enter the Symantec VIP Access OTP (the second step of two-factor authentication).

Most financial institutions will log you out after a certain period of inactivity and if that happens, you'll need to log in again with a new OTP. Financial institutions don't set cookies that allow one to stay logged in and come back later to where one left off. The inactivity periods are pretty generous for the sites I use, so that's rarely a problem.

FYI - Once you've installed Symantec VIP Access on your phone and linked it to your Fidelity account, if you're not familiar with these sorts of devices, I would suggest bringing it up on your phone and watch it for a minute or two to see how it works. These OTP generators work by generating a new OTP every so often, maybe every 30 seconds or one minute or so and once a new OTP is showing on the screen, the old OTP will no longer work. They do not generate OTPs nearly as fast as the tokens given out by banks to their business customers but every now and then if I try "beat the clock" instead of waiting a few seconds for a new OTP, I'll find that I am too late and the old OTP expired. Not a big deal, but when I was new to using these devices, there was a momentary panic thinking something was wrong.

 

 

[Gentleman.Jack.Darby]

21 hours ago, davewe said:

I would like to hear more about what you were told about shutting down your accounts. I met with Fidelity last week to discuss my impending retirement and its impact on my retirement accounts. The guy had heard nothing about problems living abroad. So I would be curious.

I've been looking into that recently and there are a couple of things to keep in mind about residency outside the U.S. and brokerages such as Fidelity:

One thing that gets overlooked, especially when folks are thinking about Fidelity and Charles Schwab as "banks" is that they aren't banks in the conventional sense as are, for example, Citibank or Bank of America - they are really brokerages and their so called "bank" accounts are really cash management accounts designed to park one's excess cash until executing a brokerage transaction or moving it into a retirement vehicle such as an IRA.

in everyday practice, they work just like conventional bank accounts but better because the fees are low or non-existent and they reimburse "foreign" (other bank) ATM surcharges, but at the end of the day, it's part of a brokerage account.

Because of strict financial regulations regarding brokerages, non-residents including U.S. citizens who are resident outside the U.S., are restricted in their ability to execute brokerage transaction such as buying individual shares of stock, mutual funds, etc.

It's my opinion that one should maintain a U.S. legal domicile and some sort of a U.S. physical presence, such as a mailing address with a trusted friend or family member or mail forwarding service and ensure that it is updated with one's brokerage.

 

 

 

[Lou49]

For any Canucks reading this thread:

My Canadian bank is TD and I use the easy web app on my IPad. I notify them that I am out of the country by clicking a button. When I am in the PI and need to go online to pay bills or transfer money they occasionally ask me a security question and I'm good to go. No problems so far. I have not had any ATM problems using my debit ATM card or my TD Visa card.

[jpbago]

5 minutes ago, Lou49 said:

For any Canucks reading this thread:

My Canadian bank is TD and I use the easy web app on my IPad. I notify them that I am out of the country by clicking a button. When I am in the PI and need to go online to pay bills or transfer money they occasionally ask me a security question and I'm good to go. No problems so far. I have not had any ATM problems using my debit ATM card or my TD Visa card.

I also use TD. Lately when I click on travel notifications, it says "No Need To Anymore". I have had no trouble with my cards in the past 52 years except for last year when they cancelled my visa card as they saw something suspicious while I was in Philippines. I was at an ATM and needed some cash. 

No.....just kidding.

My BMO Investorline sometimes asks for a landline/cell number to send a one time verification code. BMO also does not need travel notifications.