Getting Started

Everything you need to know to register for a Central Bank of Ireland Portal account is on our registration instructions page.

In short, there are three steps to register to get your person code and create your password:

1. Enter your first name, last name and your personal email address on the first screen.
2. You will be sent an email containing a verification code to your email address. Verify your email address by entering this verification code on the screen (Step 2). Verification codes expire after 30 minutes. If you’ve been delayed during the registration, simply click the "request another verification code" link under the input field and we will send you another email with a new verification code to use.
3. Create a password for your account. Your password needs to contain eight characters and include one of the each of the following: an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, a number and a special character.

And that’s it! You’ll be issued with your unique person code – it will be displayed on the screen and emailed to you – on the successful completion of these three steps. You can then use this person code and your password to log into the Central Bank of Ireland Portal.

Important:

• On your first login, you’ll be asked to set up a second factor method as part of our multi-factor authentication process.
• You will not see institution-related screens until your institution’s Portal Administrator links your account to the institution’s profile.

Your email address is used to manage your personal Central Bank of Ireland Portal account, so it is important that it is a personal email account that only you can access. To verify you can access the email address you are registering – either during the initial registration process or if updating your details from the Account Settings – we send you an email containing a unique verification code that you are required to enter on screen. Once you enter the code and it’s validated, you will be able to proceed to the next step / complete the action.

Your password needs to be eight characters in length and contain at least one of each of the following:

• Uppercase letter
• Lowercase letter
• Number
• Special character, e.g. !£$%^&*()

Note: These set up steps are specific to your institution’s first Portal Administrator. All subsequent Portal user access activity, including any changes to the Portal Administrator, is the responsibility of your institution’s Portal Administrator at the time.

Your institution’s first user on the Portal will be the Portal Administrator. When requested by the Central Bank to register for the Portal, your institution should follow the below steps to set up their Portal Administrator:

1. Identify the person that will act as their Portal Administrator.
2. Request that the person registers for a Portal account as per the standard registration process.
3. First time administrators should email [email protected] to request to be linked to their Institution. The email should contain:
   
   The full name of the Institution
   The C-Code of the Institutio;
   The full name of the nominated Portal Administrator
   The person code of the nominated Portal Administrator;

Once the Online Returns team has processed your request they will email to confirmation. The Portal Administrator should then refer to the Day One Actions on the Portal overview page.

Your person code is a unique identifier that is issued to you by the Central Bank of Ireland upon your successful registration for the Central Bank of Ireland Portal. Your person code is issued to you as an individual and is not related to your institution. Irrespective of whether you move institutions or are linked to multiple institutions, you will use the same person code (and credentials) to log into the Portal.

You will automatically be prompted to set up your second factor method, if you have not already done so, when you log into the Central Bank of Ireland Portal using your person code and password

Watch this short animated video on how to set up your second factor method.

There are three options for your second factor method: (1) Mobile app, (2) Phone call, or (3) Token

If you choose either the mobile app or token option:

1. Download the Microsoft Authenticator app from the Android store (available here) or the Apple store (available here).
2. Open the app and click to add an account. If prompted, allow the app to send notifications.
3. Select "Work or school account". If prompted, allow the app to access the camera.
4. The camera will open in the app with a square viewfinder in the middle of your device’s screen.
5. Line the device’s camera viewfinder up with the QR code (square pixelated image) on the setup screen. Your device is now set up.
6. Select "Authenticate Me Now" on the screen to receive your push notification or token challenge. Complete the challenge to be logged in.

If you choose the phone call option:

1. Enter in your phone number and select "Call me now".
2. Answer the phone call and follow the instructions (press the # key).
3. Your phone number is set up, and you will be logged into the Portal.

See how I authenticate with my second factor to understand how each method works once set up.

Your second factor method is required at every login and when changing some account settings. It is important to consider this when choosing which second factor method to set up. We recommend that whichever method you do choose, it is one that you can always access. The Central Bank has no awareness of whether the method you have set up is linked to a personal or work device/number.

If you do not wish to use a personal device/phone, you may use a work device/phone. However, this may present an issue if you do not have access to this device/phone when trying to access the Central Bank of Ireland Portal. For example, if you have chosen a phone call as your second factor method and listed a landline number, you will need to be beside the landline to complete the authentication and log into the Portal. Or, if you move to another institution, you will need to ensure that your account details are updated before you lose access to your work-based method.

No. The Microsoft Authenticator app provides a trusted third party service to ensure access to the Central Bank of Ireland Portal is secure and controlled. The Central Bank of Ireland does not have access to any data on the device(s) on which you choose to install this app.

The Central Bank of Ireland Portal uses multi-factor authentication to verify the identity of all Portal users. This helps us safeguard the data we exchange and present via the Portal. Multi-factor authentication is predicated on "something the user knows", such as a password, and "something the user has", for example, a fob or mobile phone.

Portal users will be required to present at least two pieces of evidence (or "factors") to successfully access the Portal – your login details (a unique person code and a password) and a second factor method. Find out more about second factor authentication with these short animated videos.

Watch this short animation to see how to use your second factor method when logging into the Central Bank of Ireland Portal.

Account Settings allows you to manage your Central Bank of Ireland Portal account details. . If you are on an institution screen, you can navigate to Account Settings by clicking on the arrow beside your name in the top right corner of the screen and selecting Account Settings from the dropdown.

Under My Details, you will be able to view and manage your core account details:

• Your name. Displays your first and last name.
• Your registered email address.
• Your person code. This field is read only. This is a unique code issued to you upon registration
• Your password.

Under My Second Factor Method, you can view and manage the settings for your second factor method:

• Your mobile app details. Displays the name of the mobile device on which you have downloaded and seeded the Authenticator app.
• Your phone details. Displays the number you have requested to receive the phone call during authentication.

"None configured" will display if a particular option is not set up.

We recommend that you set up both the mobile app and phone call as second factor methods, as this affords you the most flexibility when accessing the Central Bank of Ireland Portal.

When you only have one method set up, such as when you first log in, the Portal will prompt you to set up the alternative method. This is not mandatory and you can continue to use the Portal as normal with only one second factor method set up.

• If you select "Set up now", you will be directed to the Account Settings where you can set up the alternative method.
• If you select "Cancel", you will dismiss the prompt and continue to your original screen. The Portal will remind you every few months to consider setting up the alternative method.

You will no longer see this prompt when both second factor methods are set up.

The Portal Administrator manages permissions for Portal users in their institution. Examples of permissions include the ability to send and receive messages and the ability to add or remove users from an institution. For more details see What are the general permissions all users have when first linked to an institution?

In addition Portal Administrators are responsible for managing user attestation by confirming appropriate user access and permissions for their institution.

Portal Administrators can assign other users as administrators on the Portal.

Once you are registered, you will need to contact your Portal Administrator to be linked to your institution’s profile on the Portal. The Portal Administrator is responsible for assigning and managing all of your permissions for the different functionality on the Portal. You can see the Portal Administrator(s) for your institution by clicking the "Home" link in the main navigation.

Once you are linked to an institution on the Portal (by your institution’s Portal Administrator), you will see:

• Home: Summary dashboard that shows recent Pending Actions and a list of your Portal Administrator(s)
• Institution Details: Displays various information the Central Bank holds about the institution, organised into sub-sections, such as General Details, Activities and Persons.
• My Institution Profile: Shows your current list of Portal permissions.
• Pending Actions: Shows all in-progress and completed Pending Actions that you have permission to view.
• Help: Opens these Help pages on the website.

Your Portal Administrator (or Business Administrator in some cases) can also grant you additional permissions. Reach out to your Portal Administrator directly or use the in-built functionality, see How do I request a change to my permissions?

If you are a Portal Administrator you will also see a "Portal Administration" menu option, which allows you to access the following areas:

• Manage Users – Page for management of user permissions, see How do Administrators on the Portal manage a Portal User’s Permissions?
• Audit Information - Page containing list of Portal Administration reports, see What audit reports are available for a Administrators on the Portal to run?

You will see only your Account Settings if:

1. you are not actively linked to an institution on the Portal, such as when you first log in and have not yet been linked by your Portal Administrator to your institution.
2. you delete your second factor method, as this deactivates your institution links on the Portal until your Portal Administrator reactivates them. See also Why am I seeing "You have no active institution connections."?

“You have no active institution connections” displays when you are not actively linked to an institution on the Portal.

For example, you will see this message when you first register and have not yet been linked by your Portal Administrator to your institution. You will also see this message if you delete your second factor method, as your institution links will be automatically deactivated until your Portal Administrator reactivates them.

In all instances, your first port of call is to contact your Portal Administrator who can link your account to your institution.

The Portal Administrator role is managed by your institution and you should consult within your organisation to understand who holds this role. Once you are linked to your institution on the Central Bank of Ireland Portal, you can see a list of the Portal Administrator(s) on the institution’s Home page.