Troubleshooting
Password-protected and restricted PDFs
Locked statements are unlocked in your browser. What the password prompt does, why a PDF that opens fine still counts as encrypted, and the manual fallback.
Last reviewed
Many banks encrypt their statement PDFs. Some need a password to open; others open freely but are locked against printing or copying. The reading service does not accept either kind, so the app deals with it on your device before anything is uploaded.
What happens when you drop a locked PDF
The file is checked for encryption in your browser the moment you drop it.
- If it opens without a password (the print-and-copy kind), it is unlocked silently. You see an unlocking progress line, then the normal upload.
- If it needs a password, a prompt appears under the upload box naming the file. Type the password the bank gave you and press the blue button. A wrong password is refused and you can try again, or press Skip this file to leave it out of the batch.
Unlocking renders each page of the original and writes a new PDF with the same page count and page sizes. That new file is what gets uploaded. The password, the original file and the decrypted pages stay in your browser; none of them is sent anywhere, and the bank's original PDF is never stored by us.
The unlocked copy is charged the same number of pages as the original would have been.
Finding the password
Banks that email locked statements usually state the rule in the email: a customer ID, an account number, a date of birth, or part of a PAN or national ID, sometimes combined. Indian banks publish their schemes; the India page lists the common ones. If you have forgotten the rule, the email that delivered the statement is the first place to look.
Only need the plain PDF
If you want the unlocked copy itself rather than a conversion, the same step is available on its own as the PDF password remover. It downloads the rebuilt PDF and uploads nothing.
Doing it by hand instead
The old workaround still works and is worth knowing if the browser step fails on an unusual file: open the PDF in your viewer, entering the password if asked, choose Print, and pick Save as PDF or Microsoft Print to PDF as the printer. The saved copy has no encryption and uploads normally.
Still refused
If the browser reports that the file could not be opened even with the right password, the PDF may use an encryption method the browser reader does not support, or the file may be damaged. Use the manual method above, or email support@stmtai.com with the bank name and the message you saw. Do not send the password.