Tower Federal Credit Union 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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Tower Federal Credit Union, which calls itself Tower on its own site, gives members one Digital Banking login. It opens your checking, savings, loans and Tower cards on the web and in the Tower mobile app. Two-factor authentication is built in: when you sign in from a computer or phone Tower doesn't recognize, it checks it's you with a code by text or phone call (Tower). You can add an authenticator app as a stronger option, and Tower's own security checklist tells members to do so (Tower).
This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the Tower steps come from Tower's own website and the PDF guides it publishes, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Tower account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Where the setting is now
Tower moved to a new Digital Banking platform in July 2024. On your first login there, it texts or calls one of the phone numbers already on your account. Once you're in, Tower says you can change your verification method in Settings, for example to an authenticator app (Tower).
Tower's Digital Self-Service Guide, updated in October 2026, gives one path for it, and only for the web version of online banking: Settings > Security > Authenticator (Tower). The same guide doesn't list a path in the mobile app, so use a computer's browser.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
Tower's current guides stop at the menu path. Its step-by-step authenticator guide dates from March 2023, before the platform change, so the screens below may look different today (Tower).
- Sign in to Digital Banking at towerfcu.org in a browser.
- Open Settings, then Security, then Authenticator.
- Turn the authenticator on. In the 2023 version, Tower asked for your current password before it showed anything.
- Tower shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the screen. Leave the page open while you do this; the 2023 guide warns against closing it.
- Under the QR code, the 2023 guide also showed a 32-character code to type into the app instead, which it called a "32 digit code" even though it has letters. If you can't scan, tap + in Novaz, then Enter key manually, and type that code as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
- Novaz starts showing a 6-digit code for Tower. The 2023 guide didn't ask for a code to finish setup. Instead, Tower asks for one the next time you sign in from a device it doesn't recognize.
If you only have your iPhone, Tower's screen won't fit next to the camera. Take a screenshot of the QR code and add it in Novaz with +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
When Tower asks for the code
Tower asks for extra verification when you sign in from a new or different computer or device, not on every login (Tower). In the 2023 guide, the sign-in prompt listed your phone numbers next to an authenticator option, so you could pick which one to use.
That also means text and phone calls stay available as long as your numbers are on file. Tower's checklist asks you to keep your phone number, address and email current, which matters here: those numbers are your way back in if your authenticator is gone (Tower). For why the app beats a text message, see authenticator app vs SMS.
No backup codes
None of Tower's pages mention backup or recovery codes for Digital Banking. Unless you've backed up Novaz with iCloud backup or a backup file, its keys exist only on that iPhone, so your fallback is the phone numbers on your account, and after that Tower's staff.
If Tower rejects your code
Tower's guides don't cover a rejected code. The most common cause is a phone clock that has drifted: on your iPhone, open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other things to check are in Authenticator code not working?
Changing phones or losing your authenticator
Tower doesn't document how to move the authenticator to another phone, how to turn it off, or how to reset it. With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you restore your accounts on the new iPhone and the Tower codes keep working. Without one, plan to set Tower up again: while you can still sign in, go back to Settings > Security > Authenticator and see what Tower offers there. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If the phone is already gone, sign in on a device Tower knows, or choose a text or call to a number on file. If neither works, call the Member Service Center at 866-56-TOWER (866-568-6937) or 301-497-7000. Tower lists its hours as 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays (Tower). Tower doesn't say what proof it asks for or how long a reset takes.
One thing can speed up that call. Tower's mobile app has an optional Digital ID setting, which lets the Member Service Center confirm who you are with a push notification to the app (Tower). Turn it on in the app's settings before you need it. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
