Best bank for online use

Archi_Bald

pmduk wrote: »

If you have access to Which? they've published a report this week on the security of internet banking. RBS/Natwest came top with Santander at the bottom. (First Direct scored lower but have since changed their security systems.

Actually, according to Which?, Nationwide has the best online security.

http://www.which.co.uk/money/bank-accounts/reviews-ns/online-banking-security/compare-online-banking-security/

EDIT: oops, seems I was working of what appears to be not their latest report - - though that is the one you get to if you browse their website. I wonder which one they suggest people should be using, lol.

As RB10 already said, I would take their report with a pinch of salt. Because, for example:

• essentially, Santander and Nationwide are no different when it comes to logging in or setting up a new payee. OK, one uses a card reader and the other texts a code to your mobile. Same difference as far as the end result is concerned. So by what logic is one top and the other bottom?
  .
• for Natwest/RBS, they say: "users were unable to browse to another site while remaining logged in". That is rubbish because anyone can open another browser tab, or an entirely new browser session, whilst staying logged in until the banking session expires
  .
• there seems to be little connection between their "recommended bank accounts" and their online banking security report. E.g. Norwich & Peterborough is rated "poor" on security yet is on their "recommended" list. So either the security report can't matter, or their recommended list is in fact dangerous. Don't know how you are meant to decide.

I could probably pick further holes into this report but I am bored with it now.

ColdIron

I'm not a member of Which so wasn't logged in, I did the following from main page ...
Reviews->Money Then it's the 4th article under News halfway down on the right

Archi_Bald

pmduk wrote: »

If you have access to Which? they've published a report this week on the security of internet banking. RBS/Natwest came top with Santander at the bottom. (First Direct scored lower but have since changed their security systems.

Actually, according to Which?, Nationwide has the best online security.

http://www.which.co.uk/money/bank-accounts/reviews-ns/online-banking-security/compare-online-banking-security/

As RB10 already said, I would take their report with a pinch of salt. Because, for example:

• essentially, Santander and Nationwide are no different when it comes to logging in or setting up a new payee. OK, one uses a card reader and the other texts a code to your mobile. Same difference as far as the end result is concerned. So by what logic is one top and the other bottom?
  .
• for Natwest/RBS, they say: "users were unable to browse to another site while remaining logged in". That is rubbish because anyone can open another browser tab whilst staying logged in until the banking session expires
  .
• there seems to be little connection between their "recommended bank accounts" and their online banking security report. E.g. Norwich & Peterborough is rated "poor" on security yet is on their "recommended" list.

I could probably pick further holes into this report but I am bored with it now.

EDIT2: here is a further hole, after all.....they say " we asked one customer from each bank to log in to their current account using a test computer, and undertake a range of tasks. We rated each bank using seven different elements of the customer-facing security each used. " http://www.which.co.uk/news/2013/09/which-puts-online-banking-security-on-test-334569/

They draw a publishable conclusion based on what one customer from each bank says? Surely not.

ColdIron

Returning to the OPs focus of 'great online experience' this is my purely subjective ranking ignoring aspects such as security, although it would not alter my choices by much. I've ignored savings accounts as the interaction with them is much less frequent

Barclays and Nationwide
I have always liked Barclays a lot. Good layout, everything you want is close to hand and intuitive. I've recently got a Nationwide Select credit card so I'm using the site more than I used to and am really warming to it more and more

Santander and Lloyds/TSB (which are essentially the same for the present}
Both good and easy to use but are missing the 'polish' of the first two but not by much

Metro Bank and First Direct
Dreadful and whoever at FD thought a white on black presentation in a 640*480 frame was a good interface needs frog marching out of the building and shooting in the street

As I say this is just my opinion and not based anything objective, just how I feel about them as a user interface, YMMV

Gromitt

Archi_Bald wrote: »

for Natwest/RBS, they say: "users were unable to browse to another site while remaining logged in". That is rubbish because anyone can open another browser tab whilst staying logged in until the banking session expires

They are thinking of the people who have little computer knowledge. Those who will login to there bank using a public computer, and then navigate away from that page without logging out. The security problem is that someone else can come back later on, visit the history and view the online banking session as it has not been terminated correctly. Likewise for the 'back' button.

If you have an ounce of computer knowledge, you can pretty much ignore such "tests" and most likely use mobile banking rather than an internet cafe.

One thing that does annoy me however is when I type in the wrong details into a question asking for "3rd and 4th letter", etc, some banks will then ask for different letters. This means if your a thief with only certain letters, you can basically ask for a different set of letters if you don't have the ones requested, typically upto 3 times.

Saying that, I don't believe Santander should be at the bottom, but I do believe that they can improve the security of their online banking.

You-kip

I'm going for Barclays & Lloyds as the best in my experience and going for the Coop as the crappiest

Bloomberg

ColdIron wrote: »

Barclays has great online and mobile banking but poor savings products

I couldn't agree with you more.

ColdIron

Bloomberg wrote: »

I couldn't agree with you more.

It's not a problem though, I use Barclays for day to day banking and keep my cash elsewhere. The days of the single bank account are gone, who would only shop at Tesco? Best to play the strengths and weaknesses off against each other

typistretired

ColdIron wrote: »

It's not a problem though, I use Barclays for day to day banking and keep my cash elsewhere. The days of the single bank account are gone, who would only shop at Tesco? Best to play the strengths and weaknesses off against each other

I agree, but for me it is First Direct for day to day banking. I am not an IT Techie but I open separate windows for Natwest, First Direct, Nationwide or whatever bank I am moving money into. The banks warn you not to use the back button. First Direct has a back button on some parts eg the payment section.

mgdavid

Archi_Bald wrote: »

......

They draw a publishable conclusion based on what one customer from each bank says? Surely not.

No, they did not.
The conclusions based on what customer *did* not what they *said*.
They could hardly rate the bank's security processes without having a customer of each bank login and do some transactions, could they.