smile card reader

Blenheim_2

I think others have confirmed that all the card readers operate in the same way so any should work for any account.

noh

Yes they all work to the same protocol and therefore are interchangeable.
I have verified this with my current collection!

JoseChungsDoomsday

That barclays card reader is ugly!

Northstar68

Hi, have read this thread with interest, I have just opened 2 accounts with the Cooperative Bank,a joint one with OH and one of my own, 3 weeks ago and have received my card reader etc. I needed to move money from 1 account to another and was able to do that without the card reader and the transfer was immediate.
Then I needed to transfer money to my brother's account with the Abbey and had to use the card reader for that.

Maybe the Coop changed it now so money can easily be moved between accounts held at the same bank? (without the card reader)

stu531

I've been with smile for over 10 years and I have to admit I was disappointed when I saw this being rolled out. I've spoken on the phone with a couple of their operators and I can understand the reasons why they have had to increase protection, but I think it's been implemented in the wrong way. Unfortunately, I can see most banks (if not all) going this way - so there's nowhere to jump.

The biggest problem I've got with it - they're too bulky! You need something to go onto a keyring. I use a VPN RSI tag for work - it's easy and convenient. It generates random numbers and uniquely identifies me. I don't know why they didn't use this sort of tech - it's far more compact.

Of course that doesn't get away from the notion that the very convenience of Internet banking, is that you can use it wherever you like in the world. As long as you have your card reader with you, that is. So, not quite as convenient as we all first thought.

stu531

Oh, and one other thing. Give it a year before the tech is cloned and hacked. We'll all be throwing our card readers away at that point.

MoneyMagnet

Northstar68 wrote: »

Maybe the Coop changed it now so money can easily be moved between accounts held at the same bank? (without the card reader)

You can transfer between Coop/Smile accounts in your own name without using the reader. But you'll still need it if you make a transfer to someone else's Coop/Smile account.

tightarsey

Sending feedback to Smile is a total waste of time, so here is mine!

What a long standing customer would like to see (wish list):
Online current account statement going back at least 24 months, 36months would be better. 12 Months is just crap, because its £10 a statement outside this period (if you need more than one - cheaper to issue a formal data access request to Smile) - Savings accounts are 24 Months already.
A better savings rate at least in line with A&L ~ 2.5%, Smile currently pays 0.12% on Savings - Move your money out now!
Reduction in Smile Visa Debit Card fees for overseas transactions, these are currently the same as Smile Visa Cards, they are excessive for Visa Debit transactions.
Similar Reduction for Smile Visa Credit Card fees.
A increase in the standard £500 overdraft figure to £750 (in line with inflation) without having to pay £20 admin fee to set it up.
(£500 Standard overdraft has been held artificially low like the Cheque Guarantee Card limits were)
Inter-account transfers ie, transfers between you smile saving account and your current account, payment to your Smile Visa card should not be subject to use of card reader - you should be freely able to move your money around Smile Products - I think this is an anti-competitive measure and should be looked at by Monopolies and Mergers, because they are restricting competition, by making it harder to move around, under the pretense of security.
Like to be able to add regular bill payments into this too, so that after I set up the initial bill payment , subsequent ones are not subject to the card reader.
Bill payments below £50 should not be subject to use of card reader
I also don't like having to quote part of my online pin to staff in Cooperative branches, i.e, 2 digits of a 4 digit code are requested, staff could have access to my account after two visits! You should never be asked 'pin information' for anything - it is bad practice.

So why do we (as Smile Customers) all still put up with such crap rates, card readers, and other restrictions? Scarely overdraft charges (god I wouldn't want to pay them!)
Because their customer service/secure messaging is absolutely fantastic and in 10 years I've never had a mistake on my account - a warning to Cooperative though - lose this and I think there would be a mass exodus.


And finally....
A small tip for anyone wanting to make a bill payment without the card reader. If you delete the original Bill Payment, and set it up again, the initial transaction is not subject to the card reader authorisation!, so whenever I pay a bill , just delete, set amount , details - NO CARD READER! So much for 'security'

If you can think of anymore list them!