Will the big banks ever get with the times?

RandomUser923759

For some reason I never get accepted for a Tesco account...

Skippy13

takman wrote: »

Even if someone doesn't use online banking they could still pay bills by Direct Debits, Pay by card over the phone or use telephone banking to make a payment directly to the company.

Not necessarily. My Mum paid bills by Direct Debit but got in a state if she had to use telephone banking as she was uncomfortable speaking to people she didn't know. Although she knew exactly what to do she would get confused.

robatwork

Skippy13 wrote: »

Not necessarily. My Mum paid bills by Direct Debit but got in a state if she had to use telephone banking as she was uncomfortable speaking to people she didn't know. Although she knew exactly what to do she would get confused.

Several banks have no way of contacting other than by telephone, or by submitting a complaint.

I only use these banks as a source of switching bonus, as I prefer to contact banks via email/secure messages. That way I don't hang on a phone and the message is recorded for my and their reference.

I don't understand why all banks don't have an email option, which doesn't involve the real time requirements of phones and live chat. Well I can speculate as to why but I think it's wrong-headed.

p00hsticks

takman wrote: »

I understand your point but if traditional opening hours of 9 to 5 Monday to Friday and a few hours on Saturday are good enough then why do Metro Bank branches open until 8 PM on weekdays and something like 8 -6 on Saturdays and even 11 - 5 on Sundays.

They wouldn't do it if there wasn't a demand for it.

I though Metro had 'stores' rather than branches ?

There may be some demand for longer opening hours, but it's probably only really justifiable in terms of staff overheads in high density areas such as major cities - I can;t see any bank, including Metro, being able to offer this facility across a large nationwide network of branches in a really cost effective manner (last time I looked they were based only in the southern half of the country, and in cities and large towns).

Most (all) of the older 'mainstream' banks are closing branches left, right and centre, with the claim that there is little demand for them at all (personally I very rarely need to venture inside a branch these days).

Different banks look for different parts of the market.

It makes sense that newcomers to the business who have to build their systems from scratch will focus on the modern technology that the more established banks would struggle to compete with - as others have pointed out, they have invested heavily over the years in legacy IT systems that it would be risky and hugely expensive to completely replace.

I'm glad that there are new banks coming along to offer a different take on the market, but demanding that the older banks also to provide those services is in my view the same as insisting that the newer ones provide all the old services. Let them each find their own niche and people pick their favourites, and market forces will prevail.

System

The free foreign ATM usage is a loss leader for Starling - all the other newbies have now limited non-Link ATM usage due to the cost.

As for instant notification (using authorisation information) it that requires an online only debit card which causes it's own issues.

RandomUser923759

I didn't know about the 2 atm thing, I can probably get around that with Curve though.

Afourteen

takman wrote: »

Yes it's my opinion that cheques need to be phased out, that's why I said I didn't like them. People generally don't like change and with current technology and clearing times it's very difficult to justify a cheque as the best way to carry out any transaction.

Well personally I couldn't operate without a cheque book. It's made worse with now quarterly statements. With a cheque book I can manage my spending and not hand over my bank details to all an sundary. I've seen bank transfers go wrong - just to easy to get a digit wrong and the money goes into the wrong account; it's so diffficult to get corrected.

takman wrote: »

It is a fact that more can be done on the phone than in a branch. Almost every bank service is carried out centrally and staff in the branch simply interact with this central system.

Are you serious??? A club I belong has changed treasurers - it has taken over 12 months to get the old treasurers name and address deleted from the account and a new one added. In that time the bank has moved it's 'centralised' operating centre 3 times, the club has supplied the bank paperwork, once it was supplied with help twice and in the end the only way it was changed was by a strongly worded letter from the club. If the club could have made the change in branch as used to happen it would have taken just a day.

takman wrote: »

If you get paid directly into your bank then there is little reason why you would need to pay cash into your bank. People can simply withdraw what they need and spend it.
Its so easy to transfer money electronically for everyone there is no need to have so much cash it needs to be paid into the bank.

Any other service that a branch provides can be done over the phone or online. Having a network of machines to pay in cash would be far cheaper than having branches.

But like I have said before I personally don't see the point in going to bank branches. Some people really like them and go there regularly but i think it's a complete waste of time.

I've seen many comments on here from people who regularly use bank branches but not once has anyone been able to say a useful service that branches provide apart from being able to pay in cash. Anything else can be done online or over the phone from wherever you are which is far more useful.

As it with the reduction in bank branches I'm less enamoured with going to one; when I contacted the local area manager after the bamk closed 4 in the surrounding area they actually admitted they were surprised at the amount of 'footfall' the one remaining easily accessable branch was now receiving. The average waiting time in that branch is now circa 10 minutes (sometimes it's as much as 30 minutes - particularly late afternoons). The 'main' branch in the town centre is actually worse - so bad they keep on changing the layout in an attempt to speed people through and stop the complaints to the floor staff.

As for what I do in a branch; Pay utility bills, pay Credit card bills, collect cash, pay cheques in to my account, I have a safe deposit box.

EarthBoy

Afourteen wrote: »

Well personally I couldn't operate without a cheque book. It's made worse with now quarterly statements. With a cheque book I can manage my spending and not hand over my bank details to all an sundary.

Are you serious? Have you ever looked at the details on a cheque? Cheques are pre-printed with your bank details, both your sort code and account number, so when you give anybody a cheque you are doing precisely what you claim you don't want to do, i.e. you're handing over your bank details. Even worse, you are also giving them your signature.

takman

Afourteen wrote: »

Well personally I couldn't operate without a cheque book. It's made worse with now quarterly statements. With a cheque book I can manage my spending and not hand over my bank details to all an sundary. I've seen bank transfers go wrong - just to easy to get a digit wrong and the money goes into the wrong account; it's so diffficult to get corrected.

Well every cheque you write has your bank details (Sort Code and Account Number) on it so you are literally handing them over every time you use a cheque. But as most people know this isn't sensitive information and can't be used by individuals to withdraw money from your bank.

I don't see how cheques make it easier to manage you spending. There are so many different payment methods available that they really aren't necessary.
You mention quarterly statements so i'm assuming you don't use online banking. If you did then you could check your bank whenever you wanted and i'm sure you need for cheque books would severely diminish with all the other payment methods available.

Also I've never make a mistake when making a bank transfer. I know that mistakes can be made so that's why i always check it at least twice before sending payments to a new account.

Afourteen wrote: »

Are you serious??? A club I belong has changed treasurers - it has taken over 12 months to get the old treasurers name and address deleted from the account and a new one added. In that time the bank has moved it's 'centralised' operating centre 3 times, the club has supplied the bank paperwork, once it was supplied with help twice and in the end the only way it was changed was by a strongly worded letter from the club. If the club could have made the change in branch as used to happen it would have taken just a day.

Well this shows what i said is correct that everything is centrally processed. It seems you have had a bad experience but that just means that bank has a poor system and doesn't mean the entire concept of central records is flawed.

Afourteen wrote: »

As it with the reduction in bank branches I'm less enamoured with going to one; when I contacted the local area manager after the bamk closed 4 in the surrounding area they actually admitted they were surprised at the amount of 'footfall' the one remaining easily accessable branch was now receiving. The average waiting time in that branch is now circa 10 minutes (sometimes it's as much as 30 minutes - particularly late afternoons). The 'main' branch in the town centre is actually worse - so bad they keep on changing the layout in an attempt to speed people through and stop the complaints to the floor staff.

As for what I do in a branch; Pay utility bills, pay Credit card bills, collect cash, pay cheques in to my account, I have a safe deposit box.

Paying utility and credit card bills is much easier to do with Direct Debit and you will also be loosing out on discounts offered to people who pay this was.
You can get cash from any ATM without visiting a branch.
If you keep receiving Cheques then you can pay them in online (if it's not offered by your bank now it will be soon).

So the only real service you need to go to the bank for is to use your Safe Deposit Box. I have no idea what you have in it but people don't keep items in it that they need very often. This is also something that most branches don't offer and most people don't have.

So you have no real need to go to the branch as often as you do, you just choose to operate your finances in a way that means you will visit often. I'm not saying it's wrong to use a branch but it definitely ins't the quickest or most convenient.