Password Ideas for Banking

Banking, payment and investment logins are the highest-stakes passwords you have, because a takeover means direct access to money. Most attacks don't guess the password; they trick you into giving it away through a text message that claims a payment failed, a fake bank website, or a caller pretending to be from the fraud team. Once criminals have the password, they only need a one-time code to finish the job.

Use a random password of at least 16 characters that you have never used anywhere else, or the longest one your bank allows. Some banks still limit length or symbols; in that case, use the maximum allowed and rely on two-factor protection. Store it in a password manager, which also refuses to autofill on a look-alike website and is a useful warning sign of phishing.

Turn on the strongest sign-in protection your bank offers, such as app approval, a passkey or a hardware key, and enable alerts for logins and payments. Always type your bank's address yourself or use its official app, never a link in a message, and remember that your bank will never ask for your password or a one-time code by phone, text or email.