Gosh that sounds like our payroll system. It does not allow any special characters....nothing other than [a-zA-Z0-9] except it MUST contain a single $, # or !. And it must be exactly 8 characters. No more or less. The rules are so stringent it is isn't even remotely secure. WTF????
Sounds like the requirements from a bank for their online site. The only difference is that it should be only numbers and exactly 8 digits. I only had an account with them because it was a company policy to receive my paycheck, but I would never get any of their products.
That's completely pathetic, especially for a bank. The company should be able to direct deposit to any bank. Sounds like it's time to get a new bank.