If you have a question about our online account service, you might find the answer here. If you don't find what you're looking for, please contact us and we'll be happy to help.
Registering and logging in
Visit our website at www.ecology.co.uk and select ‘Log in to your account’ at the top right of the page. This will open the welcome page. Click on ‘Register’ and follow the online instructions. Once you have registered online, we will send you a letter containing your User ID and Activation Key. You can activate your registration by following the instructions within the letter. Please note that you must activate your registration within 21 days of receiving the letter. The letter will not contain your Password or Memorable Information, so please make sure you are able to remember these or keep them in a secure place.
Your registration letter contains a single-use Activation Key, which is a series of letters and numbers. You will need to use this when you activate your registration.
The Activation Key will be requested after you have input your User ID, Password and Memorable Information. Once you have successfully activated your registration, you won’t need to use the Activation Key again.
If you forget your Password or Memorable Information, you can re-set these via the ‘Forgot Password?’ button. In order to re-set your details, we will send you a new Activation Key via email. Please make sure that you use this new Activation Key to re-set your details, not the original one that was sent to you in your registration letter, as the Key is designed to be single-use and will not work a second time.
You will need your User ID to log in to the system. You can find this number in the letter that was sent to you when you first registered to use the online service.
If you forget your Password or Memorable Information, you can reset these yourself using the ‘Forgot password?’ button. However, your User ID cannot be changed so, if you have forgotten it and can’t find your original registration letter, you will need to contact our savings team who will be able to help you to regain access to your online account.
As well as your User ID, you will need your Password and Memorable Information to access your online account each time you log in.
Whereas your User ID is assigned to you, you can choose your own Password and Memorable Information. These can be anything you like, as long as they meet the following criteria.
Passwords need to:
- be a minimum of 8 characters and a maximum of 64 characters
- contain at least 1 number
- contain at least 1 special character (e.g. !£$%&*)
- contain at least 1 uppercase and 1 lowercase letter.
Memorable Information needs to:
- be between 8 and 15 characters long (a combination of letters and numbers is recommended).
Can I use separate words for my Memorable Information?
You can use separate words within your Memorable Information, but please remember that the space between the words counts as a character. When you log on, you will be asked to enter specific, numbered characters from your Memorable Information and you should include the spaces when you count. This also means that sometimes the character you are asked to enter will be a space character.
If you have not used your online account since the new version of the service was launched in July 2018, you will arrive at a ‘Your security details expired‘ page when you next log in.
If this is the case, you should use the on-screen form to create your new Password and Memorable Information. Once you have done this, you’ll be able to access your online account straightaway.
Following the updates to the system that were made in July 2018, it is a requirement that everybody using the online service goes through the ‘Your security details expired‘ process . This means that, even if you have reset your details using the ‘Forgot password?‘ button, if you have not yet gone through the ‘Your security details expired’ process, you will be prompted to do so when you next log in.
If you forget your Password or Memorable Information and are locked out of your account, you should click the ‘Forgot Password’ button on the welcome page. You will then be taken through the on-screen process for resetting your details. We recommend that you enter a different Password and Memorable Information to those that you chose originally. After clicking the ‘Reset Password’ button, you will receive an email containing an Activation Key, which will enable you to unlock your account. Your User ID will not change. Please note, you must reactivate your account within 21 days of receiving your Activation Key.
If you forget your Password or Memorable Information and are locked out of your account, you should click the ‘Forgot Password?’ button on the welcome page. You will then be taken through the on-screen process for resetting your details. We recommend that you enter a different Password and Memorable Information to those that you chose originally. After clicking the ‘Reset Password’ button, you will receive an email containing an Activation Key, which will enable you to unlock your account. Your User ID (‘Username’) will not change. Please note, you must reactivate your account within 21 days of receiving your Activation Key.
The following points might help you log in:
- Check if you have inputted correctly your User ID number, which you’ll find in the letter that was sent to you when you first registered for the online service
- When creating your Password and Memorable Information, please remember that the system is case sensitive
- If you used spaces in your Memorable Information, these will be counted as characters
- The Activation Key will only be required when you first log on and you will only be asked to enter it after you have successfully entered your User ID, Password and Memorable Information
- The Activation Key is not your Password
- If you find your Password or Memorable Information hard to remember, you can change them at any time. To do this, log in to your online account and click on your name where it appears at the top of the left-hand menu. From here, you can change your login details by selecting ‘Security Details’ and choosing the appropriate option.
The system will only reject your login details if some information is entered incorrectly. If you enter the incorrect log in details five consecutive times, your online account will be suspended and will need to be unlocked. We understand this can be frustrating and we will do everything we can to help you. Your User ID is created when you first register for the service and is unique to you. For security reasons, we cannot issue you with multiple User IDs, so it is not possible to re-register. If you are having difficulties with the system, please contact us – we will be happy to talk you through the login process while you are online.
If the website for Ecology’s online service does not seem to be working correctly (for example, if the links/buttons are not working or the page seems to be displaying strangely), it may be because you are not using the latest version of your internet browser. A browser is simply the software that gives you access to the internet (e.g. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Internet Explorer).
While we recommend Chrome as the optimum browser, the online account service is designed to be compatible with most mainstream browsers. However, you will need to make sure that whichever version you are using is up-to-date. The following browsers are supported for use with the online service:
| Operating system | Browser | Is it supported? |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | Microsoft Edge | Yes |
| Windows | Google Chrome | Yes |
| Windows | Mozilla Firefox | Yes |
| macOS | Microsoft Edge | Yes |
| macOS | Google Chrome | Yes |
| macOS | Mozilla Firefox | Yes |
| macOS | Safari | Yes |
| iOS | Safari | Yes |
| iOS | Google Chrome | Yes |
| Android | Safari | Yes |
| Android | Google Chrome | Yes |
If you’re not sure which version of your browser is installed on your computer – or whether it’s up-to-date – there are websites that can instantly tell you this. Simply ask the relevant question (e.g. ‘What browser am I using?’) via an internet search to find a suitable website that can give you this information.
If you are not using an up-to-date version of your browser, you should be able to download the latest version by visiting the official website of your browser provider, where there is often a ‘download’ button on the homepage.
Using the online service
Once you have logged on to the system, go to ‘Home’ in the left-hand menu and choose ‘Add Account’ at the top of the page. Enter your account number in the box provided and click on the ‘Add’ button. If you have more than one account to add, repeat the process until you have recorded all of your accounts.
You can add a joint account to the system, however, you will only be able to make online transfers using this account if all account holders have authorised us to accept only one signature for transfers. If multiple signatures are required, you will be able to use the online service to view your joint account, but not to make transfers.
Please note, you will not be able to view the details of newly added accounts immediately, as it takes up to two working days for us to process your request and verify your details.
You can withdraw money from your account by electronic payment to a bank account, by requesting a cheque made out to the account holder or by making a transfer to another account that you hold with Ecology.
To request a transfer or withdrawal via the online system, please click on the ‘Transfer’ button for the relevant account and follow the instructions. Please note, you cannot request a transfer or withdrawal via the messaging service.
Before you transfer money to another account using the online service, you will need to have registered the details of the account to which you wish to transfer the money (see, ‘How do I register my bank details?’). This must be a UK bank or building society account in your name or, if you hold a joint account, the name of one of the account holders.
In any one request, the minimum amount you can withdraw/transfer is £25.00 and the maximum is £25,000.00. There needs to be enough money in your account to cover the withdrawal/transfer and the request must not take your balance below the minimum required to keep your account open.
When entering the amount that you wish to transfer or withdraw, please enter only numbers and a decimal point into the box (e.g. to withdraw/transfer two thousand five hundred pounds, enter: 2500.00).
In any one request, the minimum amount you can withdraw/transfer is £25.00 and the maximum is £25,000.00. There needs to be enough money in your account to cover the withdrawal/transfer and the request must not take your balance below the minimum required to keep your account open.
If you receive an error message, it is likely because the amount you have entered is below or above the limits allowed. Please enter only numbers and a decimal point into the box (e.g. to withdraw/transfer two thousand five hundred pounds, enter: 2500.00).
You can use the online service when placing a 35-Day Notice or 90-Day Notice account on notice for a withdrawal. For all other notice accounts, you will have to request a withdrawal on notice by completing a Withdrawal/Notification Form or by sending us a signed letter. You can download the form from www.ecology.co.uk/savings/forms.
In order to withdraw or transfer money using the online service, you need to register the details of the account to which you want to transfer money. You can only register one account and it must be a UK bank or building society account held in your name (or, if you have a joint account, the name of one of the account holders).
You can set up your bank details by clicking on ‘Your Bank Account’ from the menu on the left of the homepage. It can take up to two working days to process your request and verify the details. If we need more information to do this, we will contact you. You will not be able to make a request to send funds to your bank account until we have verified the details.
If you wish to change the account to which you make transfers, you will first need to delete the details of the account that you had previously registered. You can only do this if you have no outstanding withdrawal/transfer requests.
Yes – you can tell us your new address by sending us a secure message via the online service. This facility can be found in the menu on the left of your Homepage. To send us a message, click on ‘Messages’ and then ‘Compose’.
Yes – click on your name where it appears in the left-hand menu. You will then see your email address and phone number in the ‘My Details’ window. To edit either of these, click on the pencil icon next to the information that you wish to change. The information will then become editable and you can type in your new details. Click on the tick-mark icon to confirm your new details.
You can request the closure of your account via the online service. Just log in to the service, then click on ‘Details’, choose option ‘Account closure’ and follow the instructions.
You cannot make a one-off payment into your Ecology account via the online service. To credit funds to your account, either send a cheque payable to Ecology Building Society re: (your name) or transfer funds to our bank account.
To credit a savings account: sort code 08-90-72; account number 70361591; quote your savings account number as the reference.
To credit a mortgage account: sort code 08-90-72; account number 70016309; quote your mortgage account number as the reference.
Please check the terms and conditions of your account for details of any charges or loss of interest that might apply should you make an over-payment.
Transferring money from a Co-operative Bank account?
The above details are for a collection account that we hold with the Co-operative Bank. Please note, if you hold an account with the Co-operative Bank and are using their online facility to transfer funds into your Ecology account, you will need to use the Co-operative’s ‘bill payment‘ function. This is because it will allow you to quote a reference when making your transfer; without a reference, we may be unable to pay the money into your Ecology account.
Other questions
Our Online Account Service Terms and Conditions can be found at the bottom of the welcome page or homepage.
