How to unlock a password-protected bank statement

The quickest way: print to a new PDF

Every modern computer can print to a PDF file instead of a printer, and the new file is not password-protected. Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge both open PDFs, so this works on Windows and Mac without installing anything.

1. Open the statement in Chrome or Edge. Drag the file onto an open browser window if it does not open there by default.
2. Type the password when asked.
3. Press Ctrl+P on Windows or Cmd+P on a Mac to print.
4. As the destination, choose Save as PDF.
5. Save the file with a new name, such as the bank and the month, and upload that copy.

Printing to PDF from a browser keeps the text selectable, which is what a converter needs. If you print to paper and scan it back in, the text is lost and the statement can no longer be converted.

Where the password comes from

Few South African banks publish their statement password, because the email that carries the statement usually explains it. Here is what each bank says publicly.

No bank needs your online banking password to open a statement. Standard Bank says so explicitly, and an email that asks for it should be treated as phishing.

Other ways to save an unlocked copy

If you prefer not to use a browser, the tools already on your computer can do the same job.

• Windows: open the PDF in any reader, enter the password, print, and choose Microsoft Print to PDF as the printer.
• Mac: open the PDF in Preview, enter the password, choose File, then Print, and pick Save as PDF from the PDF menu at the bottom of the print window.
• Adobe Acrobat (the paid version): open the file with the password, then remove the security setting from the document properties and save.
• Android: open the PDF, enter the password, choose Print, and select Save as PDF as the printer.

Online unlock websites also work, but you would be handing a full bank statement to a website you know nothing about. The methods above keep the file on your own device.

When printing is blocked or the password is wrong

A PDF can carry a second kind of protection that stops it being printed or copied, even after it is opened. If Print is greyed out, or the saved copy comes out blank, the bank has restricted the file.

• Download the statement again from online banking or the app instead of using the emailed copy. A statement downloaded while you are signed in may not be locked, even when the emailed one is.
• If the password is rejected, re-read the instructions in the email that carried the statement, or ask the bank. Guessing repeatedly will not help.
• Ask the bank for an unlocked copy, or for a CSV export of the same period if it offers one.

After you have an unlocked copy

Keep the original, locked statement as your official record and use the unlocked copy for uploads. The contents are identical, but the original is the one the bank sent.

Delete unlocked copies you no longer need, especially on a shared computer. An unlocked statement can be read by anyone who finds the file, which is exactly what the password was there to prevent.

Before you upload

• A free account converts 5 pages a month. Each PDF page counts as one, and a CSV counts as one however long it is. After that you can buy credits, and Premium subscribers convert without a monthly page limit.
• One PDF upload can be up to 20 pages and 8 MB. Split anything longer by month.
• The PDF must have selectable text. A scanned or photographed statement has none, so download the digital version from online banking instead.
• Where a statement prints dates without the year, the converter takes the year from the statement period. If a statement runs from December into January, check those dates in the preview.
• A PDF is read in memory over an encrypted connection and is not saved. A CSV never leaves your browser.