Introduction
In this article, you will learn about NordVPN's transaction monitoring feature - what it is, how it works, and how to add or manage bank account connections as well as review and resolve transaction alerts. As this feature is currently in beta, you will also learn what to expect during this early release phase.
Transaction monitoring
Transaction monitoring is a new feature within NordVPN's Monitor tool that watches connected bank accounts for unusual activity, such as:
- Duplicate charges
- Unusual charge amounts
- Unusual transaction currencies
- Unusual transaction times
- Unusual transaction frequency
- First-time receivers
NOTE: Feature currently supports bank accounts from financial institutions in the United States only.
Bank account connections are enabled by MX, our service provider that ensures secure access to account and transactional information. When connected to your bank, you get to select which accounts MX will have permission to access.
How does transaction monitoring work?
When you add a bank account, our system reviews the past year of transaction history to build a baseline of the usual activity in it. As new transactions appear, they are analyzed against that baseline, and if something unusual is detected, a transaction alert is generated. As a result, a notification is delivered to you via email and NordVPN applications that support the feature.
NOTE: Email notifications can be disabled in the settings, while the NordVPN app notifications are not supported for the beta release.
How do I add and manage bank accounts?
- Log in to your Nord Account.
- Visit the Monitor home page by clicking on Dark Web Monitor in the navigation.
- Open the Asset management page.
- Click Add bank account. You can also read more about the feature by clicking on How it works.
- Click Connect with MX. Select your financial institution, or use the search bar if it is not listed.
- After selecting an institution, follow the login instructions. Typically, you will see a link that opens your bank's online portal in a new tab.
- After a successful login, select the bank accounts you want to add to transaction monitoring.
NOTE: If you select the "Automatically link new, eligible accounts, including replacement accounts for lost or stolen credit cards" option, new accounts will be added to transaction monitoring assets once your financial institution provides the related information.
Once added, the bank accounts appear in the list of monitored assets.
From there, monitoring can be disabled and re-enabled by clicking on the Monitoring toggle next to a bank account. When monitoring is disabled, new transactions are not processed, so no new alerts are generated. To revoke access to a bank account entirely, remove it by clicking the trash bin icon.
NOTE: If you see "Verify your bank account to continue monitoring" or "Verification failed. Try again." message next to a bank account, you need to complete the verification by connecting to your bank again. In case the message says "Bank account disconnected", it means the access to that bank account has been revoked.
How do I review and resolve alerts?
Alerts are displayed on the Transaction alerts page. When you open an alert, additional information is shown, including the reasons it was flagged as suspicious or unusual. Once you mark an alert as resolved, it moves to the Resolved alerts tab.
NOTE: While the feature is in the beta stage, the unusual activity detection mechanism is being adjusted, and your feedback can help improve the solution. You can submit your feedback by following the corresponding link on the page.
How do I turn transaction monitoring on or off?
You can disable transaction monitoring from the Settings page. However, disabling the feature will not remove your added bank accounts or any previously generated alerts. To revoke access to your connected accounts, remove them from the dedicated Asset management page.
Additional tips
- Read our guide to learn about our Dark Web Monitor Pro™ and Dark Web Monitor features.
