As of September 24, Alltel has become a certified carrier for our mobile banking service.  Those who are Arvest Bank and Alltel Wireless customers may now use Arvest Mobile Banking on their Alltel mobile device. 

The launch for Alltel as a certified carrier includes 29 of their most popular phones and data devices.  For more information on what phones are supported, visit our Arvest Mobile Banking website.  As more devices are added, we will keep the list up to date.

Signing up for Mobile Banking can be done inside (after you log in) of Arvest web banking, simply click the "Mobile Banking" tab across the top to get started.

There will be more updates as Alltel makes their official announcement early next week.

Thank you for your question on mobile banking for carriers such as Sprint and Alltel.   We are pleased to announce that as of September 24th, Alltel Wireless has been certified to support the Arvest Mobile Banking service.  So, currently AT&T, Alltel and Verizon are the primary carriers supported for our mobile banking product.  We have received questions about other carriers such as T-Mobile, US Cellular and Sprint.  We are also anxious to be able to provide mobile banking to the customers all wireless carriers.
 
Due to the importance and sensitivity of your banking data, Arvest mobile banking depends on encrypted transmissions over the wireless carrier's network and this is why not all carriers are currently supported.  Our mobile banking partner, Firethorn, is in negotiations with several wireless carriers and we are very hopeful additional carriers will be added in the near future.   In addition to the carriers, Firethorn is constantly working on supporting additional devices.
 
We want to keep you informed of any new announcements in regards to new wireless carriers or devices (iPhone is a popular question) as we learn of developments.  At that time we will certainly add the news to the blog, our main website, and to www.arvestmobile.com.  As a reminder, with Arvest Mobile Banking, you can securely check balances, transfer funds and pay bills, all from your mobile phone and you sign up for service inside our web banking service.

Arvest Bank has become aware of a Phishing scam directed at our customers.  As a part of this scam, the perpetrators sent an email, crafted to look like it was from Arvest Bank, suggesting that the recipients “Online Services” had been suspended.  Typical of Phishing scams, the email contained a link to a Web site, designed to look like an Arvest Bank Web site, where the recipient was asked to “re-activate” their account by “logging in” and divulging confidential information.

The perpetrators apparently used typical email harvesting techniques to collect the email addresses as the fraudulent messages were also sent to individuals who do not have accounts at Arvest Bank.

If you received an email of this type, please forward it to reportfraud@arvest.com.  If you received the email, and believing it to be authentic, divulged information to the spoofed “Arvest” Web site, please contact your local Arvest Bank immediately.

Phishing scams are still quite common, and come in a variety of forms.  While most are similar to this one, involving a spoofed security alert, others come in the form of customer service surveys and even cell phone text messages.  Please be aware that while most Phishing scams direct you to fake Web sites, others may ask you to call a phone number where an automated phone system prompts you to divulge confidential information.

While it can be difficult to identify spoofed email messages, Web sites, and automated phone systems, it is not difficult to know if any of the above may be related to a fraudulent Phishing scam.  The key is knowing that legitimate businesses do not send messages to customers prompting them to divulge confidential information.  If you receive such a message, no matter how genuine it may appear, assume it to be fraudulent and please notify the legitimate business immediately.

For more information on Phishing scams, identity theft or other helpful information, please visit our Consumer Protection resource center.
 

Choosing the right password for online security is very important to help prevent unauthorized access to any of your secure online areas such as email, shopping sites or networking sites. 

The safest choices for computer passwords contain eight or more characters, combine parts of two unusual words, mix capital and lowercase characters with symbols or numbers, or combine foreign and English words. According to PC Magazine, certain passwords are hacked more often because they are so commonly used.

These do-not-use risky passwords include “password”, “123456”, “abc123”, “letmein”, “monkey”, “password1”, and your first name. So use caution when selecting your password to protect yourself from harmful hackers.

Arvest uses a multi-factor authentication process to help secure your online banking sessions - a secure sign on protocol using challenge questions and a site-key image.  Although it requires you to take an additional step or two to login to your web banking, it creates a much more secure environment for you when managing your accounts online.

This new level of security is an effective way to help discourage identity theft, discourage online banking fraud and to help you know you are on the authentic Arvest online banking website.   Secure sign on is customizable, allowing you to choose an image and a secret phrase.  When logging on, if you do not see the correct image and phrase, you will know you are on a fraudulent site and should not proceed with your login.  

Having name confusion on a credit history isn't something that occurs on a common basis.  However, the most common problems are normally family members that have similar names, or even being Jr.'s, Sr.'s or III, etc. In addition, people with common names could have some concerns.  However, since credit is based on primarily on a combination of names, social security numbers, and dates of birth, it is rare.  It is however, possible.  If you suspect or verify that incorrect information is in your file, you should contact the credit bureau (i.e. Trans Union, Experian) and file a customer dispute to have it removed.

The minimum score for a loan will vary based on many factors.  Although it is common to think that the higher the score, the better your credit, this doesn't always mean that you would not qualify for a loan.  Every bank operates under their own policies and procedures, and the best idea is to visit the bank and speak directly to a lender to understand available options.  Therefore, a person would need to visit with a loan officer of a bank to know more about their eligibility.  At Arvest, we don't have a minimum credit score requirement.  Instead, a customer must have reasonably good credit, along with the capacity to repay the loan. 

Keep in mind: With the increase in Identity theft, it is important that consumers become more aware of what is on their credit.  Good or bad, your credit should be yours.  The best way for someone to control their credit is to know what's on their credit report.  All consumers are entitled to one free credit report per year from each of the major credit bureaus.  Although there are some that are advertised as free credit websites, there are usually fees involved, such as credit monitoring or other services.  However, if you visit, www.annualcreditreport.com , you can obtain a free credit file on yourself.  This is a great way to take control of your credit. 
 

Basically, both approvals are the same on the part of the bank when it comes to the loan application and review of the credit report. However, there is an additional step in the construction process. It comes into play with your bid for construction and the upfront appraisal.

Arvest requests that you get a complete bid from your builder, along with a set of plans for the new home. Next, we submit this information to the appraiser in order to get the value of the completed property before we move forward with the construction loan. We also make sure that your builder is approved through Arvest and has the proper licensing in place to build in the state in which your loan is processed. Based upon the appraisal of the property, we will then use that value to work towards completing your long-term approval on your final loan.

To learn more about Home Loans or to get started with a Construction Loan, contact an Arvest Mortgage Lender today!

One of the things that attracted me to Arvest is our mission statement: People helping people find financial solutions for life.  I am personally driven to help people with their finances.  It is very gratifying to know I have helped someone achieve a financial goal such as planning for retirement or college savings.

It is even more gratifying to help someone begin to budget properly and end the cycle of overspending and being under the burden of too much debt.    Many people do not want to admit how much debt they have but the numbers do not lie.  The average American saves less than 2% of their income and has an average credit card balance of $9205.  Interest owed on that balance would be around $1,500 per year. 

High levels of debt bring on high levels of stress that impact your health.  A recent poll by the Associated Press reported the following among people reporting high debt stress:

• 27 percent had ulcers or digestive tract problems, compared with 8 percent of those with low levels  of debt stress.
• 44 percent had migraines or other headaches, compared with 15 percent.
• 29 percent suffered severe anxiety, compared with 4 percent.
• 23 percent had severe depression, compared with 4 percent.
• 6 percent reported heart attacks, half the rate for those with low debt stress.

It is hard to break the cycle but it can be done. If you have too much debt you owe it to yourself and your health!  You may think that you can’t do it because you do not make enough money but it is possible.  Let me tell you about Anne Scheiber.  Anne retired from the IRS in the mid 40’s with $5,000 in savings and an annual pension of $3,150.  That would be equivalent today to about $44,000 in savings and a pension of $27,500.  When she passed away in 1995 she donated her estate of $22,000,000 she had amassed on a small pension to a local women’s college!  Anne was a miser but there is a happy medium that will allow you to make on a small budget.  You can do it and it would be Arvest’s pleasure to help you!
 

The new Arvest Spending Card is now available at any Arvest Bank location.  As a reminder, the Spending Card is a reloadable prepaid debit card that can be used for budgeting, providing funds to students or family members or for any other use you would have to keep funds on a reloadable card.

A reloadable prepaid debit card allows you to put money on the card and then the card can be used to make store purchases, withdraw cash from an ATM, make internet purchases or pay household bills using the card.   You can use Arvest's online banking and telephone banking services to manage and load your card, or if you need personal assistance you can get it at any of over 200 Arvest branch locations.

For September and October, no load fee!  Get a card now for yourself or a family member and save!

Check out the new Spending Card website for more information!