Password-protected bank statement PDFs

Why statements are locked

Statements sent by email, exported from some business banking tools, or passed on by an accountant are sometimes protected with a password so that only the intended person can open them. The password is usually set by whoever created the file, and is often explained in the email that came with it.

Two kinds of protection

An open password stops the PDF opening at all without it. A permissions password lets anyone open the file but restricts printing or copying. The converter needs the open password if there is one; permissions restrictions don’t affect reading the text.

Step by step

1. Choose the PDF in the converterChoose or drop the locked file as normal.
2. Enter the passwordA password box appears. Type the password you use to open the file and click Unlock.
3. Check the resultThe statement converts and is checked as usual. The password is used by your browser to open the file and is never stored or sent.
4. Wrong password?The converter says so. Check capitals, and whether the password is a date or account number in a particular format.

Don’t remove the password by printing

A common tip is to open the PDF and “print” it to a new PDF without the password. It works, but the new file is made by your printer software rather than the bank, its text may be rearranged, and edited-statement checks will rightly flag it as not produced by a bank. If you need to share the statement, send the original with the password separately.

Forgotten the password?

Nothing can open the file without it. Download the statement again from online banking, or ask whoever sent it.

Sending a locked statement to someone else

If you have to share a protected statement, for example with an accountant, send the file and the password by different routes: the PDF through their client portal or by email, and the password by phone or text. That way, someone who intercepts one doesn’t get both.