Why is online banking decades behind continental Europe?

mgdavid

SouthLondonUser wrote: »

But if I have to pay, say, 10 invoices to a payee, .......

So you're referring to business banking?
Do all your continental colleagues and acquaintances have business accounts too? You cannot really compare business accounts to personal accounts.

worried_jim

I love those Greek banks, really fill me with confidence.

SouthLondonUser

mgdavid wrote: »

So you're referring to business banking?
Do all your continental colleagues and acquaintances have business accounts too? You cannot really compare business accounts to personal accounts.

No, I am not comparing business vs personal. There are payees I have paid multiple times over the years; maybe not 10 times, but multiple times yes. E.g. a couple of small businesses I bought from; I was happy to pay by wire transfer as this meant they wouldn't incur card fees. I asked them how they preferred to be paid and they said wire transfer.
Another example are the distinguished gentlemen who (don't) manage the block of flats where I live. I have to pay them at least 5 times a year (quarterly fees + annual ground rent). Every time the invoice # is different; I have had issues with them "not finding" payments; this is what sparked the discussion with my colleagues: not something abstract, but a very practical annoyance I have had.

I just cannot understand how downloading years of statements or getting some kind of confirmation of your wire transfers are not possible. Of course every system and every country has its pros and cons, but this seems simply absurd to me.

SouthLondonUser

worried_jim wrote: »

I love those Greek banks, really fill me with confidence.

And both the "useful comment which adds to the discussion" and "sarcasm" award of the year go to worried jim!

Cornucopia

I have online banking with 2 UK Banks, and Business online Banking with another.

I think they all provide extensive facilities for downloading statements and CSVs of transactions. They vary somewhat in how they present them, but I'm pretty sure they all work (because I use them for my tax returns).

On the above accounts, I don't think you can create a one-off bill payment (what I would call a "wire transfer"). That means that your payment details will be retained unless/until you manually delete them. One bank definitely shows the date and amount of the last payment on each entry.

The payment reference length dates back decades, so that is why it is so relatively short.

The question of controls and feedback on BACS payments is a vexed one. Extreme care is required at the moment, as you may find it very difficult to get money refunded if you make a mistake.

SouthLondonUser

Cornucopia wrote: »

I have online banking with 2 UK Banks, and Business online Banking with another.

I think they all provide extensive facilities for downloading statements and CSVs of transactions.

Can I ask which ones?One of the reasons I switched away from Natwest, which let me download statements fairly easily, was the card reader required for online payments (I'm not going to call them wire transfers anymore, OK? ). I rarely made one, but I never seemed to have the thing with me the very few times I did need to make one. I moved to HSBC, which at the time required me to carry around a thingy the size of a microcalculator to even login. Better than Natwest's card reader, but I broke it (the HSBC thingy) so many times in my pockets. First Direct was the first I knew of to let me use an app on my mobile to login, without needing to carry bulky items I'd break and or lose all the time. Hopefully the two-step authentication via apps is becoming more common.

Cornucopia

I'd have to check which have exactly what facilities. Of the three only Santander does not use a dongle, if you are trying to avoid them.

PeacefulWaters

SouthLondonUser wrote: »

Is this national pride speaking or do you know for a fact?

I've not passed it off as fact. But I look at the things you think should exist and think minor stuff.

There are numerous facilities on my Halufax online banking, as one example, that are also minor benefits but I'd hazard a guess aren't available across every European bank.

Swings and roundabouts undeserving of your rather peculiar thread.

martinsurrey

SouthLondonUser wrote: »

Can I ask which ones?One of the reasons I switched away from Natwest, which let me download statements fairly easily, was the card reader required for online payments (I'm not going to call them wire transfers anymore, OK? ). I rarely made one, but I never seemed to have the thing with me the very few times I did need to make one. I moved to HSBC, which at the time required me to carry around a thingy the size of a microcalculator to even login. Better than Natwest's card reader, but I broke it (the HSBC thingy) so many times in my pockets. First Direct was the first I knew of to let me use an app on my mobile to login, without needing to carry bulky items I'd break and or lose all the time. Hopefully the two-step authentication via apps is becoming more common.

seems like you jumped from HSBC too early...

app login
voice log in
dongle log in
statements back to Jan 2014 all in one place.

redux

Decades?

In January 1995 I had telephone banking with Halifax, several months before it formally launched, but I don't think there was anything about internet. Did foreign banks already have online banking even then?