How to Set Up Online Banking with Oaken Financial

This is out of date and needs to be revised.

A few days after I mailed in our application to open a joint savings account at Oaken Financial, a letter arrived in the mail. It had instructions for how to set up our online banking access. Here’s how I set up our online savings account at Oaken Financial and what their website looks like when I got into it.

What Do I Need to Start Online Banking with Oaken Financial?

• Your date of birth
• Your email address
• Your “Online Banking Enrollment Number”

Signing In to Your Oaken Financial Online Savings Account for the First Time

1. Go to the Oaken website at: online.oaken.com/enrol
2. In the Enrollment Number field, type the number Oaken sent you in your welcome letter.
3. In the Email Address field, type the email address you used on your account application form.
4. Complete the Date of Birth field.
5. Click on the Continue button.
6. Sign in to that email account to retrieve a temporary password and find a link.
7. Click on the link provided in the email.

Set Your Password for Online Banking

1. In the Temporary Password field, type in the password provided in the email note.
2. In the New Password field, type the password you want to use for online banking.
   NOTE: it must be 8-15 characters and contain at least 1 number and 2 letters. 1 letter must be Uppercase.
3. Click on the Continue button.
4. Read the message and click on the Continue button.

Create a Userid for your Online Banking

You must now create a unique username for your account.
NOTE: it must be 6-16 characters and contain uppercase letters and numbers but not special characters.

1. In the Create Username field, type the id you want to use for online banking.
2. Click on the Continue button.

The Create Your Secret Phrase Page
Your secret phrase is used during sign in. It must be 6-20 characters long and cannot be all spaces.

1. In the Enter Secret Phrase field, type the info you want to type each type you sign in.
2. Click on the Continue button.

The Choose Your Security Questions Page

1. From the drop-down list for Password Question 1: select a question.
   In the Password Answer 1: field, type the answer.
2. From the drop-down list for Password Question 2: select a question.
   In the Password Answer 2: field, type the answer.
3. From the drop-down list for Password Question 3: select a question.
   In the Password Answer 3: field, type the answer.
4. Click on the Continue button.

The Terms and Conditions Page
Read the 11 page (!) document of Terms and Conditions.

If you can live with them, click on the Accept button.

You are now enrolled. Click on the Continue button to see you bank info.

What Does Online Banking at Oaken Financial Look Like?

The actual banking website seems clean and bright.

The Home Page shows

• your Savings Accounts, if any
• your Non-registered Accounts, for example our GIC shows up
• your Registered Accounts, for example a RRSP, RRIF or TFSA account

Tabs across the top of the Home Page include

• Home
• Account Management
• Transfer
• Service Centre
• Open New Account

Links provided on the left side of the Home Page include

• Current Interest Rates
• Applications and Forms
• Oaken FAQs
• Message Centre
• Set Up Alerts

I did click on the Transfer tab to see if our link with our “Big Bank” account has been set up. It has!

Sign Out Securely

1. Click on the Log out link at the top right of the screen.
2. Clear your cache and close your browser session.

How Long Did It Take to Start Saving with Oaken Financial?

Here’s a recap of the timeline:

• Friday November 21: Dropped the application form into the big red Canada Post box. (I doubt it was picked up till Monday.)
• Monday November 24: GIC issued. (!)
• Wednesday November 26: Our cheque cleared out “Big Bank” so the money should be on its way to Oaken.
• Thursday November 27: Received Enrollment information in the mail. I could have signed in immediately.
• Friday November 28: I actually signed in for the first time.

So it took less than a week to set up the account by mail. Not bad!

Related Reading

• How to Open a Higher Interest Daily Savings Account at Oaken Financial

Join In
Are you shopping for a new place to park your emergency fund? Where did you pick? Please share your experiences with a comment.