@DanTandem any new products in the pipeline for 2019?
@DanTandem Has Tandem considered offering more cash back for high annual spend.
American Express, probably the biggest Cash back offer-er in the credit card space, offers 0.5% on up to 5k annual spend and 1% for anything more.
If Tandem could do this, even for a slightly higher spend, I would give up my American Express and move to using Tandem for all my purchases.
I’d like a 3, 6, 9 and 18 Months Fixed Saver account. Your 1, 2 and 3 yr have very competitive interest rates, so would definitely be interested in a more customisable fixed window.
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Here’s a quick look behind the scenes at planning week, so you can see a few Tandem faces and find out what people here are looking forward to in 2019.
These are the main priorities, which I expect us to do in roughly this order:
Autosavings
Paperless statements
Digital KYC (improving the on-boarding experience, reducing the rejection rate for cards, moving to soft search)
Big Office Move!
Integration with Emma and other money management apps
p2p payments
Adding compatibility with Monzo and other challenger banks
Google Pay / Apple Pay
Yes - this would be great. Particularly if we can let you reach a certain target in your instant access savings account and transfer that with a click into a 3, 6, 9 month fixed term with a decent rate.
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Very insightful, thank you.
Any launch windows for any of these? or just ‘as soon as they’re ready’
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Autosavings up to Big office move we want to do first quarter… after that is subject to change.
Had a Tandem card and was using it happily for around a year, always paying off the balance in full every month.
Last week, I was away abroad and had some suspicious purchases. I noticed, as Tandem sends a 2FA code to your phone and I had received three overnight. I called to ask about them from my hotel - it was Amazon and Netflix purchases online. I said ‘let me just check - I will call back’
I asked my g/f if she had perhaps used my card or account, just in case - and checked our amazon account using my laptop (no purchases recently) so, I realised it was fraudulent. When I called back I was asked lots of security questions, including ‘tell me what were your last purchases on this card?’ I couldn’t remember as I had just cleared it all and was leaving it alone before this trip away. I wasn’t sure of what I had spent on the card last as I usually use my debit cards and I just didn’t know (does anyone remember their last purchases on each card?). I was told pretty abruptly that I had failed security and my card was now stopped.
I tried to call again and was told I had failed security so I must wait to be contacted by the security team.
A week later, nothing doing, but I had an Amazon delivery of a PS4 video game I had not ordered. I haven’t even got a PS4 and I figured somehow or other it was to do with the card being ‘kited’.
So - having heard nothing since the kerfuffle while I was away, I called again. Once again I was asked normal security stuff OK and then passed on to someone else to deal with it.
I was then told I needed to answer further multiple choice security questions.
The first was a list of address, I had to choose the one I had lived at. I heard one I had lived at over 20 years ago. OK, fine.
Next question was when I last took out a mortgage. I had a top up for an extension less than a year ago - but the option ‘under a year ago’ was not offered. I said ‘your information is wrong’ and got no help. I quoted the date of my earlier mortgage.
Next question: When did you last get a mobile phone contract in your name? I said, I have a phone in my name, but it is paid by my company - does that count? I was told ‘we cannot tell you anything, you must answer the question’. I don’t know if I got it right.
Next question: ‘When did you last open a personal bank account’. I have an overseas account I opened up four years ago (probably not what they meant), an account in my name in a SIPP pension that was opened in the past few weeks (in my name at metro bank, but technically opened by my SIPP provider), a dollar account I opened with HSBC around a year ago - as an ‘additional currency account linked to my existing personal account’ and two more, with Co-op and NatWest, which I had to open when I moved business accounts from one bank to another for perfectly normal reasons. I asked if the dollar account counted, and if a SIPP pension account was counted as a ‘personal bank account’ - but I was not allowed to ask, I had to just answer (‘in last year/ one to three years ago/more than three years ago’ etc.)
I just could not answer while I was on the phone. I had to guess.
The last question: ‘when did you last apply for a credit card?’ I said ’I only have one, it is my tandem card with you’ but I could not say if it was ‘more than a year ago’ or ‘less than a year ago’ when I applied with any certainty (while on the phone). Again I guessed.
So - (surprise, surprise) I was told I had failed security again and I was not allowed to ask anything else. I was told I would not be contacted and that the only way to get access would be to send a copy of my passport in and go through the security process again. I was totally frustrated - as I was just trying to sort it out and perhaps sort out the fraudulent use. I have been told I cannot call again to discuss anything before I send my passport scan in and my card is already stopped anyway. The questions were actually impossible to be sure of, it was inevitable I guess.
Since I am sure I had cleared my card before I left, and it was now blocked I figured ‘ **** this!’ and cancelled my direct debit and threw the card away, cut into pieces.
Now - I am wondering if they can chalk me up as a defaulter - I have a good credit record, no overdrafts and apart from my mortgage(s)? have NO debts at all. Plus a shrink wrapped PS4 game I never ordered, presumably from a credit card I had not used as it was purchased while I was asleep overseas.
I am happy to talk it over, but there is only stolen money at stake - about £60, from what they said - so why can I not talk this over, since I cannot cause any harm by talking it through - and I can clear ‘reasonable’ security. I am using the phone they send me messages on, they could write to my registered address and ask me reasonable questions easily enough - I have never failed security anywhere before. How do I get out of this Kafkaesque situation? Aaaagh! It all seems ludicrous. The card was handy - but this lot are a pain. Any ideas on here?
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Sorry to hear about the trouble you’ve had, it does sound frustrating. That said, cancelling the DD and cutting the card up was the wrong course of action IMHO. You’ll be marked in your credit file as missing a payment, that will become multiple payments and eventually it’ll lead to a CCJ.
I know the security questions seemed over the top but I’ve had similar when dealing with other companies. You should reach out to them in whatever way you can. Don’t they have representatives on this forum?
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Do you not have their app on your phone? Does sound like a pretty terrible experience though. Sorry you’re going through it. They are extremely old-school in terms of their processes. I will be cancelling my card as soon as one of the other “real” fintechs offers a credit card.
You may be right - but the lack of giving me any way of discussing issues means I cannot do anything. I want them to HAVE to get in touch with me, so I can sort it out. Surely they need to write, or something?
Thanks, but I have liked banking on the phone and judging by the iffy reviews of their app, it would not have helped. It’s academic now, in any case.
*never (liked)!
Just call them and ask how you can prove your identity. Then prove it, otherwise they won’t talk to you. Leaving this as it is will cause you all sorts of problems in the future.
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It would have let you pass the first security question, about your last purchase. That might have been all you had to do actually. It may still help you pass security if you choose to try and sort this out again (after sending in your passport copy).
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How long have people waited for the credit card on average?
Average doesn’t really help you here as there are 2 distinct customer journeys.
- Accepted or declined instantly (5 mins to apply, card gets sent if successful and arrives within 3-5 working days). This route has always been pretty good and efficient. Occasional customer has difficulty, but very rare.
- ‘Refer’ - when we need more information from the customer. This normally takes 2-3 weeks to get the card, but has occasionally been worse as there was a big backlog at a couple of times.
So the average might be somewhere in the middle, but the speeds are vastly different depending on whether you are accepted straight away, or whether you go through the refer route.
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Hi there. We’re talking on facebook now - I’ve asked you for a couple more details there so I can link you with the account and find out what happened. Just nudging you here in case you’re not on facebook often.
Firstly, sorry that it has been so annoying. From the security perspective, we’re obviously trying to protect your money and your account. But the fact that we’re trying to protect it from you is obviously really frustrating from your perspective.
I think as someone else pointed out here that our customer service team do expect you to be able to access the app and therefore see the last transactions on your account when they are speaking with you to prove security. It’d be interesting to hear why that wasn’t an option for you - in case it’s something that our processes should take into account more.
Again, apologies for what happened - and if you can send over those extra details so I can chase it up, that’d be great. Thanks for your time.
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My issue is that I have had no communication from you as to whether you need more info or anything.
I don’t mind waiting but it would be nice to have a little more info
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I have tried the facebook route and will see how that goes. But the last time I called, I did pass all normal security (address, DOB, normal phone no. etc) then the further questions came to ‘unlock my ban’ and I failed them. I pleaded with them to help - but nope. The questions were unreasonable, but that was it. Computer says ‘no’.
Didn’t they offer a alternative method of confirming your identity?
With traditional firms you’d be asked to visit a local branch with some ID. I guess the closest alternative would be if Tandem offers to book a video call where they can see you and see your ID.
By the way the additional weird multiple choice questions are from your credit report, it’s a silly way of confirming access, plus some of those questions are not very memorable such as you opened a account with XYZ in 2005, which month was it 
Hi Dan, thanks for the reply, but I never had the app on my phone.
I don’t use banking on my phone and I don’t remember it being compulsory, so I did not feel the need and it is just an other attack vector, security-wise. Also, since I had a direct debit to clear the entire balance at the end of the month, I thought ‘why worry?’ I was happy I could call if needs be, but the card just was a tool to spend money overseas, and I found it very useful for that in fact. Until there was the issue, of course - which left me a bit stuck and having to use alternative methods of paying, just after I totally cleared the card for the trip.
I am hoping I can verify myself somehow - and no, I don’t go on Facebook much, but I have a company FB account I am using given it seems the only option left open. I am away from tomorrow overseas again, so to be frank I would really prefer someone to get in touch with me on the phone number linked to my account, rather than having to keep an eye on facebook, since (again) I don’t have it on my phone. I used to, but then I found life improved if I did not 
I am really not trying to be a pain, I just want to sort it out. I am totally happy to cancel the card and just forget it, but I would rather not leave things in this kind of odd limbo. I managed to reinstate my direct debit, so as not to fall foul of a possible default on my credit rating by Tandem for some reason. But this leaves me open to having money taken out of my account by Tandem without me having recourse except to the FCA, which for about £60 (which I think was the amount of the fraudulent use) is a lot of hassle. A reasonable, painless solution would surely be better; I can’t do any damage to Tandem since the card is blocked anyway - except complain here - so I don’t see what’s to lose by talking to me.
I appreciate you answering, I hope it helps.