Secure Shopping Online Q&As

Strong Customer Authentication (or SCA) gives greater security when shopping online. Instead of being asked for one identification method like a password, SCA provides more protection as it uses two methods of identification to confirm it’s you. This means when you’re shopping online, we may need to confirm that it’s really you using your card. The easiest way to do this is to use an AIB app.

A secure password and updated personal information helps protect your digital profile with us.

Create a strong password

A strong password helps you:

• Keep your personal information safe
• Protect your banking information
• Prevent someone else from getting into your account

Meet password requirements:

Create your password using 8 characters or more. It can be any combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. Accents and accented characters (e.g á, é etc.) aren't supported.

We accept long passwords.

You cannot use a password that:

• Is particularly weak. Example: "password123"
• A password that has been previously seen in a data breach
• Starts or ends with a blank space

We check for passwords that have been part of data breaches. There are over 600 million of these. This makes them unsuitable for ongoing use as they're at much greater risk of being used to take over your AIB digital profile.

Password tips:

Use a different password for each of your important accounts, like your email and digital profile.

Reusing passwords for important accounts is risky. If someone gets your password for one account, they could access your email, address, others services you subscribe to and possibly AIB services.

Make Your Passwords Long and Memorable:

Long passwords are stronger, so make your password at least 8 characters long. These tips can help you create longer passwords that are easier to remember. Try to use:

• A lyric from a song or poem
• A meaningful quote from a movie or speech
• A passage from a book
• A series of words that are meaningful to you
• An abbreviation: Make a password from the first letter of each word in a sentence
• Avoid choosing passwords that could be guessed by:
• People who know you
• People looking at easily accessible info (like your social media profile)

Avoid Personal Information:

Don’t use personal information. Avoid creating passwords from info that others might know or could easily find out. Examples:

• Your nickname or initials
• The name of your child or pet
• Important birthdays or years
• The name of your street
• Numbers from your address

Consider managing your passwords with a password management tool:

If you have trouble remembering multiple passwords, consider using a trusted password manager. Take some time to research the reviews and reputations of these services.

When online using your card, Visa helps confirm your identity, if requested. After you’ve entered in your card details to pay, a Visa screen may appear and ask you to confirm your transaction by providing some security details. The on screen instructions will tell you what to do.

Personal Customers:

Make sure you have the latest version of the AIB mobile app, turn on notifications and you’re ready to go.

If you don’t have the app, you can download it and use your registration number and Personal Access Code (PAC) from Phone & Internet Banking for the app.

And if you’re not registered for AIB Phone & Internet Banking, call 0818 724 020 (+353 1 771 2424 from outside Ireland) to get set up.

Business Customers:

For business customers, each person who has a card on the account will need to download, and set up the new AIB Authenticator app.

No. You may not be asked to confirm it’s you if the purchase is low value or considered low risk by us.

No, you cannot opt out of this service. 

Your mobile number is unique to you and is used as a method of identification to confirm it’s you.

Personal Customers:

1. You can update it online using phone and internet banking, under 'Settings & Services', and 'My Details'. You will need your card reader for this.
2. If you don’t have Internet Banking, you can do this at your local AIB Branch. You will need ID to complete this.

Please let all additional cardholders know they need to do this too.

Business Customers:

If you have an AIB Business Debit Card you can update your mobile number by:

1. Calling us at (01) 2695022
2. Writing to your local branch

If you have an AIB Corporate, Business or Purchasing Card you can update your mobile number by:

1. Calling us at 01 668 5500.
2. Writing to us at: AIB Card Issuing, PO Box 708, Co Dublin.

Please let all additional cardholders know they need to do this too. 

• Check your balance on our banking services

• Check the expiry date on your card.

• Have you set up a way to confirm your purchase online?

• If you have been asked to confirm it’s you, have you entered in the information correctly?

• If you have tried the purchase again and your card is still being declined, phone the number on the back of your card to speak to us. The phone lines are available from 09:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays.

• Where you have given your card details to pay a recurring or variable bill, similar to a direct debit. Examples of these are:
  • your gas bill
  • streaming/TV subscription
  • subscription App
  • gym membership
  • online shopping for groceries
  • additional charges for a hotel payment for example, mini-bar use, breakfast on the morning of check-out

These purchases need to be flagged a certain way so we can process them. It’s an industry regulation and some retailers may not be ready for these changes. If this type of purchase is declined, contact the retailer and ask them if they will accept the payment over the phone. 

• If you were not asked to confirm your online purchase, it could be that the retailer may not be ready for Strong Customer Authentication. Try again and if it is not successful, contact them and ask if they will accept the payment over the phone.

A notification is a message that pops up on a mobile device from the app. It’s an instant way to communicate with you.

You need to turn on notifications so that we can notify you while you are shopping online for you to confirm your purchase.

Switching on notifications for an AIB app

If you have an iPhone, you can do this by going to 'Settings', 'Notifications', and allowing notifications for the AIB app.

If you’ve an Android phone you can do this by allowing notifications for the AIB app in your phone’s settings.

If you aren’t receiving notifications, first check that notifications are enabled for the AIB Mobile app (for personal cardholders) or AIB Authenticator app (for business cardholders).

 If you don’t get the notification, you can also confirm your purchase within the apps:

• Log into the app and follow the on screen steps, or
• Log in and tap on the bell icon on the top right of the Account screen on the app and follow the steps. 

Then try some of our troubleshooting suggestions, depending on your smartphone:

• Check that Do-Not-Disturb mode and Power-Save mode are not activated.
• Check that you’re connected to the internet and have sufficient data available on your phone
• OnePlus: select battery optimisation on the app and then don't optimize.

If you have an Apple device and are using Focus Modes, AIB notifications may be suppressed.  On your device, tap Settings > Focus and select the relevant Focus Group. Under ‘Allow Notifications’, tap on Apps and Add. Select AIB Mobile to give it a blue tick, and Done.

If you have a Huawei or Xiaomi device and you’re not receiving the notification, go to Settings, select Advanced settings and Battery-manager. Then set the AIB app as a protected app. This is different on each operating system:

1.      Go to Settings -> Advanced settings -> Battery manager -> Protected apps, then find the app you want to see notifications from (AIB app), and protect it.

2.      Go to Settings -> Apps -> advanced -> Ignore battery optimizations, then find the app (AIB) and ignore it. Ignoring the app actually means to let it run.

For personal cardholders, if you have Mobile Banking, you’ll automatically be asked to check the notification in your app each time you shop online. If you can’t use notifications (and you have the password option set up), click ‘use text and password for this purchase’ on the ‘Confirm your purchase’ screen to use your password.

Set up a password for online purchases.

If you don't recognise a request you've been sent and suspect that someone is attempting to use your account or card details, you can deny and report this by following the instructions on screen.

If you can no longer see the notification on your screen, just log into the AIB mobile app and if there is a notification you will be asked to view any outstanding items for approval. Follow the steps onscreen to complete your purchase.

You can also find notifications within the app by clicking on the bell icon in the top right hand corner of the Accounts screen.

Yes you can change notifications settings on your phone and make them more visible.

If you have an iPhone, you can change the notification to be persistent. A persistent banner will stay on the screen until you tap it or dismiss it, while a temporary banner will remain for a few seconds then disappear.  

• Go to the Settings app
• From here, tap on Notifications
• Tap on AIB Mobile, (for personal cardholders) or AIB Authenticator (for business cardholders)
• Tap on Banner Style
• Change the Banner Style from Temporary to Persistent
• Within this screen, you also have the option to change how notifications appear. You can tap to display notifications on the lock screen, notification centre and as banners.
• You can also turn on sounds and badges for the app.

Also ensure Notification Delivery is set to Immediate Delivery.

If you’ve an Android phone, this usually works

• Go to the Settings app
• Tap on Notifications
• Tap on Lock screen
• For notifications to appear on the lock screen, go to Notifications and turn notifications on for the app.

 This may vary by device.

Just log in to the AIB mobile app and if there is a notification you will be asked to view any outstanding items for approval. Follow the steps onscreen to complete your purchase. 

You can also find notifications within the app by clicking on the bell icon in the top right hand corner of the Accounts screen. 

Turning on notifications is slightly different on each phone so check you have these turned on. If they are turned on you may not have received the notification due to a network issue. Please try again. More about internet shopping.

Yes. To use your cards for online shopping, you will need to be set up for SCA.

If you have non-Irish or UK Mobile phone number, you can still use the AIB mobile app (for personal cardholders) or AIB authenticator app (for business cardholders) to authenticate your purchases.

A jailbroken or rooted device is where a device is modified to eliminate security layers designed to protect your personal information and your mobile device. With this security removed from your mobile device, hackers may steal your personal information, damage your device, attack your network, or introduce malware, spyware, or viruses.

Jailbroken or rooted devices are not compatible with the latest version of the AIB mobile app (for personal cardholders) or AIB authenticator app (for business cardholders). When the app is installed it performs a series of checks to determine if the device is safe for running the AIB mobile app (personal) or AIB authenticator app (business) - if the security checks have not been successful for example a jailbroken or rooted device is identified our app will not run. This security feature is for the protection of our customers and their accounts.

You won’t be able to confirm your purchase using the app if you have a jailbroken or rooted phone. Personal cardholders will need to use the alternative authentication method, Confirm by Password.

• If you are registered for our Phone and Internet banking service, you need to use your registration number and personal access code (for your personal or sole trader accounts) to log into the app.   
  • If you have a registration number and personal access code for your limited company accounts, you will not be able to use these details to log into this app.
• If you don’t use AIB Phone and Internet Banking for your personal or sole trader accounts, you need to register through the authenticator app by using your email.
• If you have already set up your email and password to confirm your personal card purchases, you can log into the authenticator app using the same email and password and add your business cards to this app. 

1. Delete and reinstall the app, ensure you follow the correct pairing process. Ensure permissions are allowed and Notifications are enabled. Follow all the steps on screen until you are logged in fully and can see your card on screen.
2. Retry your purchase, you may need to enter your card information in order for the payment system to register that you are now set up.

• Apple: Device running on iOS 15.1 or above
• Android: Device running on version 10 or above

Device tips

• Check that you have the most up to date version of the authenticator app by going into the app/play store, if there is no update required for the app, you have the correct version.
• Make sure your device has an operating system to support the app
  • Apple: Device running on iOS 15.1 or above
  • Android: Device running on version 10 or above

Log in/register tips

• If you are logging into the app using your registration number and personal access code, make sure it’s your details for your personal or sole trader accounts.
• If you have a registration number and personal access code for your limited company accounts, you will not be able to use these details for this app. Instead, you will need to use your registration number and personal access code for personal accounts (if you have one) or if not, you will need to register to use the app.
• If you have already set up your email and password to confirm your personal card purchases, you can log into the authenticator app using the same email and password and add your Business cards to this app.
• If you get the error ‘Looks like a record with the details you provided already exists’
  • Log out of the app and log back in using your registration number and personal access code (for your personal or sole trader accounts), if you have one. or,
  • If you have already set up your email and password to confirm your personal card purchases, you can log into the authenticator app using the same email and password. 

Manage your profile tips

• Once you have confirmed your mobile numbers in the “manage my profile” screen, you will see a green tick beside them. To exit this screen, tap close or X (whichever displays for you) on the top left corner of the screen.
•  Check your details on the “manage my profile” are correct. 
  • Log into the app, tap profile on the bottom of the screen
  • You can edit some of your details in the app, you will see an edit button beside the fields you can.
  • If any other details are incorrect and you can’t edit them, please call us on the numbers below

Adding your card tips

• If you get an error message after trying to add your Business credit or debit card, try entering the card number again, as this might be due to an incorrect card number being entered. 
• You cannot add a personal credit or debit card to this app.

Error message