great minds eh Neil?
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I suppose you could say there was a way to do it. It just took an unacceptable amount of time.
You can manage without it, I think. I’m not 100% sure, but I believe there is an alternative via the website.
Also, you can order more so that you have more than one.
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They only allowed it due to “exceptional circumstances”. Which to me means they can do it, but don’t want to.
I had to explain I’m immunocompromised and can’t go into a branch right now, and then wait an hour while they figured out what to do.
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Yes, you can log in to the website without it (as long as you have a registered mobile number and can receive a text from Nationwide).
However, if you log in this way than some things are restricted. I’m not sure what tasks exactly, but setting up a new payee is probably one.
Also, to be pedantic, HSBC and First Direct don’t use card readers, per se, but code generators. They are basically the same but registered to a single account holder and don’t use the person’s debit card.
Barclays use a card reader for their physical device, but also a software version of it that is more like HSBC’s.
This is just straight-up awful service!
Can I moan about Barclaycard?
I have my account set up on my iPhone with Face ID, I can’t find/remember the details to get into my account online but you can only “securely message” them via their web version, not the app.
PARITY IS IMPORTANT!
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Can you login to the Barclays (not Barclaycard) app to manage your credit card and use Live Chat there?
It’s not possible to set up a new payee online without a card reader apparently. Or you’d think they would have suggested that to me during the hour I was on the phone…
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I don’t have the Barclays app, but I’m not sure if that would work.
I managed to search through my notes app and find my incredibly insecure app pin and got in that way.
It was a nightmare when I set up my new phone after 3 years of FaceID and not remembering any of them!
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I meant you can order another Nationwide reader. You aren’t limited to one. I used to keep one in work, and one at home.
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Yes, I know.
I was just trying to make the point to others that you couldn’t use any HSBC readers as backups.
Personally, my favourite card readers are the Barclays PINSentry and Lloyds Bank Business ones (they are larger than the normal Nationwide/NatWest/RBS style ones) as the buttons are much easier to press correctly and they have a slightly larger screen.
I’m not old by any means, but I find the smaller ones fiddly in comparison.
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You’ve raised a good point here. Accessibility and card readers.
I’m partially sighted and struggle with my hands, what other options would I have with Nationwide apart from a card reader which I may be unable to use?
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I detest the screen on the Nationwide reader so much that I changed to logging in by SMS for a while. That is until I logged in at 1100 one day and the SMS arrived around five hours later. 
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I think some accessible card readers even have a headphone port and can “speak” the code to you as well as display it.
You would probably have to make a big fuss to order one though!
That is great to know 
I’ll order one.
Edit - Oh wait, do Nationwide have one?
I can’t seem to find one. And I’m not sure the Barclays one is compatible, as they have their own PINSentry thing.
I have a Barclaycard, so maybe they’ll send one? I’ve never used a card reader with my Barclaycard like…
That’s where BitWarden, Last Pass, etc, come in handy 
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Is your contention here specifically that they said “we don’t do this for security reasons” instead of “we chose not to offer this for security reasons”?
This is not contract wording or a legal letter and so the language will be of a more conversational nature and some level of inference may therefore be required on the part of the reader.
“We don’t do this because X” in this context already brings with it the implication that a choice was made (some point after X was identified, and provided X is not an obligation such as law/regulatory requirement) and without the use of “solely” or “entirely” it is reasonable to assume it will have been a choice made based on the totality of factors at play, but that security was/is a key concern upon which the ‘choice’ could solely be justified.
This is not at all the same as “we can’t/won’t tell you, go away” - it is not the same as, for example, having your account closed “for security reasons” and no further detail being available (which although using the same words has an entirely different context) - it is simply quicker in this context to write and easier to read “we don’t do this service for security reasons and don’t have the tooling” and expect the reader to draw the necessary inferences rather than say
“there are a number of factors in the decision not to do this but ultimately there would be no commercially viable way to offer this service in a manner that falls within our risk appetite as an app-based bank and so we made the decision not to offer this and as it was a service we had chosen not offer we did not need to build the tooling for it and so even if you rang us up and offered to slip us a fiver it is literally impossible, by design, for our ops staff to do this thing”
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That is not my contention
Dan Said:
I am saying that
- for data protection reasons
- we apologise for any inconvenience that may have been caused
- we’re sorry you think that
- Health and safety reasons
- We can’t tell you why
- For security reasons
Are all used far to often to justify something that they don’t have an explaination for or don’t want to provide an explaination for
Starling for example won’t let some people add their debit cards to Apple Pay. Their answer… We can’t tell you why. Now we all know this isn’t true UNLESS they don’t know why it’s happening which is very unlikely.
In Monzo’s case there is an undisclosed reason why they can’t to do this. I would hazard a guess that Dans earlier comment about Monzo being an app only bank is the real reason for it.
For the record I do not think (as others have suggested) that it is an unreasonable reply. You sign up for Monzo you know they are app only, if you want to telephone banking thne pick a bank that offers it.
My issue is and remains the blanket “we don’t do it for security reasons” which clearly isn’t true. They don’t do it because they are an app only bank that doesn’t offer that facility.
I think we’re getting slightly off topic but I don’t think people should be saying Monzo don’t do something security reasons when the answer is simply that they don’t offer that facility or product