What's the worst feature of your legacy bank?

It’s not my legacy bank, but this should be worrying :scream:

And NatWest had already been warned that this was probably not a good fight to pick :joy::

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What is the worst feature of your legacy bank?

Not being able to tell who a payment was to on my statement because the name/description is too oblique.

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Had an iOS update to the Metro Bank app today allowing you to “setup new payees within the app” :tada:

Tried to do so within the app. It then gave an error saying “for your protection you need to be registered for 30 days before you can add a new payee”.

I’ve been registered for years… :weary:

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The Metro Bank app is pretty darn bad. Nowhere near as bad as Lloyds, but that’s a very low bar!

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I’m assuming Lloyds app is identical to the Halifax one as their websites are pretty much identical apart from logo and colour schemes, but I have never had issues setting up new payee, always have been reasonably ok experience and the text/call verification gives you some (yes, I know some people might argue false, however perception is king) sense of security. My only grumble is that you cannot get your IBAN off the app, you have to login to the website for some godly unknown reason. And that the app is still not taking full advantage of the iPhone X’s larger screen (though in the last update they did apologise about that and said they are still looking into it).

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The main issue is the fact they use their own keyboard, making it basically impossible to even sign in. I didn’t know it was possible to make a smartphone keyboard so bad. I get why they want a trusted keyboard, but they could have just used the code from the AOSP project keyboard or something. Instead they wrote their own basically unusable keyboard.

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Probably makes a password manager a no starter too

It does. I kinda get their logic, Android needs some type of hook for trusted keyboards (only allow keyboards that have had some additional vetting for certain tasks). But there’s no hope for Lloyds, where you can call for a trusted keyboard (the Apple official one).

They just really want to force their useless keyboard (and I’ve tried it on both iOS and Android, I gave up on the app in frustration attempting to enter my password) on everyone. It also raises major accessibility concerns…

HSBC cancelled all my standing orders and direct debits last summer when I tried to close an(other) account with them. It was a pain to reinstate it all, thank God I was not on holidays and saw the e-mails from all services regarding the cancelled debits, and my rent wasn’t due. Happily leaving them now as I have cancelled all products I had with them (and boy does First Direct use exactly the same systems as HSBC do!)

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I went in to my local NatWest branch to change my name by deed poll that I had printed off the net and had two witnesses sign. The lady at the information desk said I couldn’t use my deed poll because it wasn’t stamped by a solicitor. Even when I told her it was perfectly legal and that the DVLA and PO accepted it, she responded by saying ‘anyone could have made this document’. She spent 10 mins searching on the net and couldn’t find any info to back her claims it had to be certified by a notary/solicitor, so she then spent 30 mins on the phone to HQ and still couldn’t give me a direct answer. She then conferred with a colleague within earshot of me where she asks ‘this isn’t a legal document right’? Of course her colleague responded to her leading question in the affirmative and so I just left in a very bad mood and had to go to another branch a week later to sort it out. So as soon as I get my Monzo debit card this week, it’s going to be my main bank account.

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I shudder every time i have to login to halifax just to pay off my credit card, also it literally feels like its just lading a mobile webpage theres nothing smooth about it.

Plus every product offered asks me then to call a number to check if im eligible. Why offer services in the app to then go on and tell me to ring up to get my deal.

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Wouldn’t be too hopeful as app is still a iPhone 5 app zoomed in. We’re on the fourth iteration of plus iPhones right now and they’ve still done nothing to correct this.

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Worst feature is definitely having to take a morning or afternoon off work to visit my nearest branch as the opening are 9-4 yet most people are in work 8-5.

Best feature is I can use my phone to make nfc contactless payment without the need for a Samsung or Google wallet. Can’t believe Monzo is behind Barclays in a tech feature!

Second best feature is Barclays asks for a 5 digit code each time I open the app. Why doesn’t Monzo? I get that I put I pin in to unlock my phone so there is some basic security there which is why I was happy using £100 top ups on the prepaid, but if Monzo wants us to start using the current account properly with larger sums of money I’d really prefer the second layer for peace of mind.

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You won’t have this problem with Monzo as there are no branches :slight_smile:

I like Barclays App it’s probably one the best out of all legacy banks it is slow to load but still acceptable IMO and gives you options to view PIN, Temporary card freeze, Cash machine settings and remote purchases settings etc…

You can enable touch ID for unlocking the Monzo app under settings which its more secure than a pin number.

Not on Android. No touch or pin unless you actually log out for proper but then you won’t get notices

When it comes to the worst feature of a legacy bank, Clydesdale is right up there.

To close an unused savings account, I called them. They told me to write in. Fair enough.

I clicked on the email button in their app. It looks like an in-app secure message but is, in reality, just an email wrapped in their app.

They emailed back saying it had to be a letter. So I wrote a letter and attached it as a PDF and sent it back to them.

All good.

No. I got a telephone call from a number unknown to me. Where they asked for personally identifiable information. I don’t know who they are. Yes, on balance it’s the Bank but they’re using tactics that are used by those less scrupulous. I don’t give out personal information on phone to someone that called me if I can’t verify who they say they are.

No problem, they invited me to call the number on the back of the debit card to go through security. Yep, that’s reasonable.

I call them, and their customer service refuses to help me saying that it’s not their job, they can’t put me through to that department, they can only send a fax to them requesting they call to establish my identity, contrary to what I’d just been advised by their other dept. :roll_eyes:

All this palaver to cancel a savings account with nothing in it. Really?

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And another worst feature of a legacy bank

I just got an account with NatWest as they bribed me £150 or so to move to them. They encourage you to use their app or online banking. Fair. I prefer to do that anyway.

Today I need to pay some tax to HMRC. Yeah, I could do it tomorrow but I didn’t want to forget.

Set up the payment on their website (yes, you can access the account via a web browser. Take note challengers Monzo and Starling!) and it then asks for some authorisation code.

I remember that silly calculator thing that RBS sent me once. Dig it out and it works with the NatWest debit card. Fortunate because I don’t recall any mention from NatWest that one of these is required to transact online and they’d not bothered to send me one.

So, those stupid little calculator 2FA devices. I don’t like those.

On the other hand, when it came to entering the account number and sort code for HMRC CUMBERNAULD, NatWest knew it and prepopulated it. This is something that these legacy banks can do well when you want to pay an organisation. Not sure if Monzo or Starling can do this?

I’m not sure if this is the worst, but it annoys me.

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These are all apps for Santander UK.

OK - I guess I can understand having a separate app for business… maybe (surely you can just have a flags on the account to determine what to show when logged in if it’s a business account)

But the other three are all consumer accounts. Why have three apps? Why not put them all in one?

Also, this is great:

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So, if you’ve already used one app, you can’t use another one apparently.

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