People still afraid to bank on-line.

trashcan_2

After talking with friends recently, who are all regular internet users, I was surprised to see how many of them still do not bank on-line. They all seemed worried about security and many of them still preferred to go to their banks and Building societies even though the rates were lower.

Lokolo

I bank online loads. I use Egg, but I use HSBCs amazing online thing and Lloyds okish internet banking.

I still prefer HSBC though, easier to put cash into my accounts (bit hard with Egg!!).

collingwood21

Yes, I know people like this too!

As long as you follow common sense rules (like not clicking through from an email purporting to be from your bank, just in case it is phishing) then all is OK.

nzseries1

I think you're more likely to get mugged leaving the bank than to get your internet banking compromised! Perhaps that's just the area I live in though

gemmabe

nzseries1 wrote: »

I think you're more likely to get mugged leaving the bank than to get your internet banking compromised! Perhaps that's just the area I live in though

I agree!

My boss refuses to bank online in any way, in fact he doesn't even like using the hole in the wall haha.

doelani

I know a lot of people like this as well. I currently bank with Halifax, before that Abbey and before that when internet banking started with Firsttrust. Never had a problem and could not do without the option of fgoing online very day to check statement, pay bill etc.

In contrast I know someone who does not even check their paperstatements, just check when they go to get moeny form cash machine how much they have left and has realised a few weks ago someone has been using their card to top up mobile phone , possibly from as early as January :eek: I have said to this person AGAIN to sign up for online banking and at least they can see if anything is wrong even if they only check once a week. They won't lol

dag_2

I suspect that part of the reason that some people don't bank online is that they perceive banking in general to be complicated, and they feel a bit lost if they can't ask someone questions about it.

Take my mum for example. She doesn't bank online. However, I've also noticed, when I've visited her and stayed with her for a few days, that she makes special journeys to visit the bank to ask them questions about things which, to my way of thinking, are perfectly straightforward. For example, the interest rates on certain types of account, or what kind of form you need to transfer money from one type of account to another, and how you fill that form in. Come to think of it, form-filling in general is something that I think my mum has difficulty with.

She also never uses ATM's. She does occasionally pay at shops with a debit card, though, but only very rarely, and she considers it to be more complicated than paying in cash. As a result, this does mean that she makes fairly frequent and regular visits to the bank to withdraw cash over the counter. So she tends to ask all her questions about how to fill forms in at the same time.

Having said that, she does keep records of how much she spends to some extent, and she does try to reconcile this with the amount of cash she physically holds every few days. And she writes it all up in her housekeeping budget book. So it's certainly not a case of her not keeping an eye on what's going on.

Personally, I don't see how filling in basic forms about banking transactions are any more complicated than this. But she seems to see it differently. I suppose it's just what she's used to, I don't know.

But yes, it most certainly does mean that she's missing out on the best deals. Personally I think it's ridiculous that she writes down how much she spends at the supermarket in her big budget book, and looks for offers and savings on the shelves, when several hundred pounds are slipping through her fingers every month because she's missing out on the best interest rates. But there you go.

trashcan_2

When the Post office changed to card payment my Mum thought it was the end of the world. Because her hands shake so much she always messes the pin number up and has even been know to give the person behind her the pin number so that they can put in in for her. I have told her the security risks about her pin but I might as well talk to a brick wall.

Oblivion

I have 20 different savings accounts (not counting my main current account) with 12 different institutions, and every one of them is online. I've worked this way for years ... I like to keep in touch with my transactions, particularly my current account and credit card account. Being able to check my credit card statement online has twice revealed fraudulent payments just hours after they happened ... neither fraud was the result of internet use.

I use a non-networked PC with the firewall up and with PC Tools Spyware Doctor and Norton Anti-Virus running in the background and I think as long as you take precautions like this, you should not fear the concept of online banking access.

Dave.

dag_2

When the Post office changed to card payment my Mum thought it was the end of the world. Because her hands shake so much she always messes the pin number up and has even been know to give the person behind her the pin number so that they can put in in for her.

Yeah, I can understand that. Most of us who have been familiar with the need to use a PIN for ATM's for decades won't have found that it's any more complicated to use a PIN at point of sale.

But although my mum has never used an ATM, she has entered PINs when using credit and debit cards at point of sale. I'm sure of it! Then again, maybe I've imagined it, I'm not sure.

I think my mum is also worried about not being able to get at her money as a result of her own ISP service going down. But I say to her, if broadband packs up, you can still use dial-up. But then she says, what if her computer develops some other fault, and she can't use dial-up either? I'd say, use a computer in a public library or internet cafe instead!

To be fair, my mum is relying on a laptop computer with a very poor spec. It takes about a minute from turning it on to get to the desktop, and it takes about another two or three minutes from there before all the other background processes settle down, before you can actually really do anything.

But personally, I'm studying with the Open University, which means I pretty much have to have a functioning computer in order to ensure that I meet my TMA deadlines. In the event that my main computer packed up and I really couldn't fix it, I would get myself a cheap replacement computer from the Stratford Computer Fair in east London the very next weekend, I wouldn't mess about. I try not to depend too much on any one computer, or any one ISP.

For that reason, the thought that my computer or internet service might fail doesn't stop me from using internet banking. But my mum's not in that position. If something which she had become accustomed to should suddenly fail, she'd get in quite a flap about trying to fix it, and she'd find it very hard to be patient.

Maybe lots of other people are the same, I don't know.

LucyTheDwarf

My mum and I had this very conversation earlier. She was telling me how she'd taken £500 in cash into her branch, to pay off her credit card bill. The cash has disappeared from the system, it has not gone on the credit card account. Luckily, she has the receipt from the cashier. But my point was - why not do it online! Straight from debit card, receipt via email, receipt number generated immediately as soon as the payment goes through... If she'd lost that tiny slip of paper, she'd effectively thrown away £500. But, she says she doesn't trust online banking, as she fears her money could disappear!!!