High street bankers

[delphinne]

Is it just me or is anybody else having trouble with using their bank? As yet I’ve resisted online banking, mostly from a safety issue and the fact that I like using a bank and feel that people should have a choice. Three of my banks branches are now temporarily closed due to the pandemic and staffing issues which means I have to drive miles in order to find one that’s open. The staff are obstructive and don’t want you in there consequently you are made to feel awkward for even daring to gain access to your money. I understand about staff sickness but this is also just a way of stopping you from using the bank. Many older people don’t want to do online banking or cannot afford the equipment to do so. Or maybe it’s just me ???😤😤😤

All you need is a smart phone to do mobile banking. Online banking is much more convenient than trailing to the bank to stand in a queue

It is inconvenient and difficult to use a real bank, but that is kind of the point. Banks would prefer everyone to bank online so they can cut down on buildings and staff.

There’s little point to an actual bank on the high street; you can just do it all online.

You can’t resist it forever, otherwise you’ll end up in a position where you can’t learn. A lot of older people now have had 20+ years to learn to use the internet and have refused to do so, now they’re in a position where it’s too hard.

Personal responsibility. This is the way the world is going and you need to go with it, not be left behind.

I know what you mean about the branch staff. I do all of my banking either through my app or on the laptop but there has been a couple of things where I've HAD to go to a branch in the past year and when I've gone, I've been treated like a huge inconvenience.

I think it's just you. I too resisted the move to online banking, but once I made the switch I've never looked back. You don't even have to visit a branch to pay a cheque in anymore, just take a photo with the app. I actually resent having to go in to pay in the coppers - although with the move to a cashless society, that will become less of a problem.

I've always felt an inconvenience when I've gone into a bank, going back to when I first opened a current account in the 90's. It's nothing new.

I guess there are a few people who can't afford basic computer equipment but seriously, a cheap smartphone or a Raspberry Pi plus cables and keyboard would set you back very little and would be affordable to most people.

I thought I needed to visit the bank to set up a first account for my daughter. I had brought along ID and proof of address (didn't need this).

It took longer for the staff to make the appointment for a phone consultation than it probably would have done to create the account in the first place.

I work in a bank, and there’s so few people who actually visit a branch these days (even pre covid) that it’s really not cost effective to keep them open. The elderly are the most resistant - many wont even use cash machines and want to withdraw and deposit cash at the counters. But most of online banking fraud, where customers are scammed, are committed against the elderly as they are often trusting and not on top of the risks that online banking brings. It’s difficult as I think the elderly still need to be catered for, even if mobile banking is introduced.

Part of the problem with online banking is not just the cost of the equipment, which isn't cheap, but also the ongoing monthly cost of the phone or internet bill. The elderly aren't the only people in this situation, very poor people (i.e. those who are at risk of homelessness etc) also suffer this. A lot of shelters don't have wifi. It's all very well to say use free /public wifi, but it's not ideal to access your online banking through public wifi, it's pretty easy to hack.

And then of course equipment needs to be replaced every few years, when it gets broken or becomes too old to work properly. Eventually app updates for older phones stop being supported or rolled out, because they assume everyone has upgraded. My DH hasn't had online banking on his phone for nearly 2 years because there's no app for it, he has to go to the bank. So of course I have to sort all the bills because he can't see his money.

My mother refuses to use online banking. It’s a massive pain in the arse with unnecessary rigmarole every time she needs shopping done. It wastes my precious time.

Just get the app.

Numbers on a screen is much more secure than the paper in your pocket.

I use online banking but you can't do everything online! For example I wanted to open a joint account with Halifax but you have to go into branch to do it, it can't be done online.

I really worry about elderly people who insist on using cash. Day and daily I read reports in our local paper about elderly people being mugged or burgled for their cash. They would be far safer using internet banking.

Making sure that people who won't or can't use the internet still have access to their money is a real issue which the FCA and banks take seriously.

What is it about online banking that you think is less secure? Do you refuse to do other things online? Never bought anything from amazon, for example?

DP and I had both been with Lloyds for over 20 years and used online banking. Last year we decided to get a joint account which apparently we needed to go into a branch for but of course you can’t go into a branch unless you’re elderly or vulnerable.

So we moved all our accounts including business ones to Starling and opened a joint account in a matter of days. It’s honestly the best thing we could have done.

Covid 19 has been used by the banks to accelerate their wish to move as much online as possible. Bank hours are limited with Covid 19 users as a reason, and to be honest, I doubt whether they will go back to the pre-pandemic hours. None of the local banks are opening more than four hours a day whereas beforehand several opened for seven, and only one of six is opening on a Saturday at all.

As for the matter of internet use, it's not just whether you are willing, it is are you able to. Broadband in some rural areas and/or broadband speed is limited.

I've just been made redundant from a bank I worked in for over a decade due to the branch closing.

Saw it coming years ago as footfall dropped and we were forced to pressure customers into using online banking.

In the end the only people coming in were the stubborn ones who were in denial. There are no banks left in that town now, so I wonder what these customers will do. It blows my mind that they'd rather travel to the nearest town with a branch than just sit at home and do it themselves.

Don't forget you don't necessarily need a smart phone or the internet, there's telephone banking too. Every elderly person I've ever met has a landline.

Cash is on its way out, as is face to face banking. It saves a ton of time and hassle.

YABU

You’re clearly able to access the internet but are choosing to make life hard for yourself when it comes to banking.

Banks are businesses. They makes decisions in the interests of company profits and shareholders (within the regulations). They close branches because it’s not cost effective to keep them open just because a few stubborn people refuse to go online or use phone banking.

@PinkSparklyPussyCat

I use online banking but you can't do everything online! For example I wanted to open a joint account with Halifax but you have to go into branch to do it, it can't be done online.

Some things are just a nightmare.

I'm stuck in what seems like an interminable logic loop with Santander. I'm trying to get my late DP's name removed from our joint account. It should be straightforward, there's no probate or anything and all his other accounts have been closed without any hassle using the "tell us once" service.

Santander bots keep telling me that we both have to visit a branch to do this, and when I reply that he can't, on account of being dead, they refer me to their bereavement guide and the whole cycle starts again.

I ring them, and you can never speak to a fucking human.

If we had a local branch, I'd just rock up with a copy of the death certificate, but they closed it a couple of years ago. The nearest branch is over 12 miles away, and I don't fancy a 25 mile round trip that might well prove to be fruitless.

For everyday shite, paying bills, switching money around etc, online banking is much easier imo.

@TakeTheCuntOutOfScunthorpe

I think it's just you. I too resisted the move to online banking, but once I made the switch I've never looked back. You don't even have to visit a branch to pay a cheque in anymore, just take a photo with the app. I actually resent having to go in to pay in the coppers - although with the move to a cashless society, that will become less of a problem.

I've always felt an inconvenience when I've gone into a bank, going back to when I first opened a current account in the 90's. It's nothing new.

I guess there are a few people who can't afford basic computer equipment but seriously, a cheap smartphone or a Raspberry Pi plus cables and keyboard would set you back very little and would be affordable to most people.

It's really difficult for some groups of people though. People with mild LDs, visual impairments, brain injuries etc really struggle with remembering passwords and often with tech generally. People who are alcohol dependent also face huge challenges.

And homeless people could have all the tech in the world, but it ain't going to work too well in a shop doorway or allotment shed.

Even the DWP recognise that online access is an issue for some groups, and they can manage their UC accounts by visiting job centres.

Op online banking is fine and is reasonably secure. It is also quick and convenient.

I think the resistance to online banking is generational. My DM still goes into the physical branch of her bank on a Monday morning to pay bills, deposit cheques and draws out over the counter the amount of cash she will need for the week ahead.

When I have been in her bank with her it is, slow and some of the cashiers are rude

DM is early 70s and in infuriates me that she will not learn to use a computer /ipad/smart phone and use the Internet for banking and shopping.

It is none of my business, but it would make her and Dad's lives, so much easier if they were willing to bank and shop online. Tbf Dad is slowly coming round to the idea.
Lots of their friends are like this too also refuse to bank or shop online.

It would also be safer for my parent's, if they paid by card for things, as they do have bank cards, but dislike using them. My concern is that they walk around town each week with £££ cash.

Don't be like my parent's, op switch to online banking now.

I work in a bank and you know, it’s so boring when people go on about us closing branches. All I can say is if people used them, they wouldn’t close. We don’t drive people towards internet banking to be able to close branches. We work on having the best and most user friendly online proposition because that’s what customers are demanding. Customers on the whole don’t want to use branches any more - I totally get that you and others are exceptions but I’m afraid there’s not many of you. People always ask what the elderly are going to do when branches close - well, they can use Post Office branches but the majority of older customers I speak to have got, and use, internet banking. So it’s a myth that none of them are coping with it.

Long story short: if people had continued to use branches, they would stay open. But customers are the ones driving more and more use of internet banking, we’re just responding to demand.

@Fourandtwentymilliondoors

I work in a bank and you know, it’s so boring when people go on about us closing branches. All I can say is if people used them, they wouldn’t close. We don’t drive people towards internet banking to be able to close branches. We work on having the best and most user friendly online proposition because that’s what customers are demanding. Customers on the whole don’t want to use branches any more - I totally get that you and others are exceptions but I’m afraid there’s not many of you. People always ask what the elderly are going to do when branches close - well, they can use Post Office branches but the majority of older customers I speak to have got, and use, internet banking. So it’s a myth that none of them are coping with it.

Long story short: if people had continued to use branches, they would stay open. But customers are the ones driving more and more use of internet banking, we’re just responding to demand.

I think that's true, but on the other hand, banks have specifically made it difficult for people to use branches thereby driving them to online banking whether they really want it or not. I was treasurer for a small community group and we had to bank cash etc. The local bank (the biggest one in the area) eventually got to the stage of having one cashier and a queue around the branch. You'd have to allow half an hour to bank some cash. Meanwhile there was another member of staff who walked up and down the queue and asked what you were there for. If you said eg lodging a cheque, they'd tell you to go outside and post it in the quick lodgement box. People, understandably didn't want that because they wanted a receipt, but the staff said 'well that's the procedure, sorry'. And same with almost everything else except lodging cash.

Personally, I was an early adopter of online banking and have no desire to set foot in a branch if I can avoid it, so on a personal level it doesn't bother me. But I think there is a bit of a vicious circle going on. The banks have actively driven people away from branches so that they can in turn say 'well, no one wants them, if they did they would be using them'.

I worked in a bank and I was that person who asked you if you’d considered online/used my iPad to show you that you could do the transfer you needed online, I HATED that job and used to go home in tears I was so beaten down by the same comments, most of which are on here in some form or another. Most people can do online banking, it’s easy and it saves the company money which is why they are doing it, everything moves on, there are of course people who can’t or won’t but can I appeal to anyone not to have a go at the poor person asking you to do things online or trying to introduce you to online banking, they are genuinely trying to help and are doing their job (and probably being berated by management for letting someone stand in the queue when they could have used said iPad).

I certainly wouldn't agree with being rude to the staff member. I too have worked in a bank and it was a miserable experience, particularly when you were forced to deliver what by anyone's standards would be classed as a substandard service whilst simultaneously being told to convince the customer that it was actually better that way. When mostly it was for the bank's convenience, not the customer's.