al rayan — Online banking is being switched off

mike_robert

I gave up on their visual recognition app weeks ago, it was absolutely hopeless. The alternative ID/pw version also turned out to be a nightmare. It did not tell you which part of the account number it needed for starters. Once that was eventually established it came back with 'account not found' (after considerable delay). After three more attempts with exactly the same number it suddenly 'found' it. After numerous attempts to complete the registration and similar illogical error messages I finally got to the 'register now' button and the app then froze. I tried the whole process once more and found I had been locked out with no instructions for a reset. The problems I encountered seemed to be linked to their app being overloaded which is hardly surprising. The worst part of this whole circus is the inability to speak to someone as waiting more than one hour is ludicrous. Why AR did not stick to fingerprint validation is beyond me. Other bank apps just request a normal login then take a sample fingerprint and that's it! The AR process makes you start from scratch and takes for ever. I am now on the phone waiting (for ever) to find out if I am EVER going to be able to access my accounts. I should add I am a retired IT professional and have never had problems with any of my other banking apps (I have six, all using fingerprint validation). Whoever the 'Circusmaster' is, should be fired and replaced by someone that knows what they are doing.

Diggle123

I'm finding it impossible to even register the app.
When I start the process, as an account holder, I enter my FirstName, Surname, Account number, all are shown with Crosses and "Something is wrong". Surely a basic Text input can't be wrong, I'd accept the Account number as (possibly) being typed in wrong, but name, unlikely. And anyway, it hasn't even been asked to submit at this point, so App is pretty awful.
Like others, haven't got a hour to sit round waiting for a CS agent, and how do you troubleshoot when call and app on same phone?
Why they can't leave the web interface (which works) is beyond me

mike_robert

In response to your problem (Diggle123) it is likely to be your account number. You need to type in only the six digits in the middle. The entire account number is xxxx-yyyyyy-zzz, just use the yyyyyy.

soulsaver

mike_robert said:

In response to your problem (Diggle123) it is likely to be your account number. You need to type in only the six digits in the middle. The entire account number is xxxx-yyyyyy-zzz, just use the yyyyyy.

Or the 8 digit ac number for the everyday saver if you have it.

colsten

water4444 said:

Bank response 

https://www.alrayanbank.co.uk/useful-info-tools/about-us/latest-news/aug-2019/statement-23-august-2019/

So why are you still digging it up? 

colsten

soulsaver said:

Or the 8 digit ac number for the everyday saver if you have it.

I was told the first 6 digits of the everyday saver account number are sufficient, and that worked for me (after all the other issues with the registration process were eventually resolved for me)

colsten

Can I suggest that everyone who is still struggling to register raises a formal complaint. They will take note of this because it is one of the criteria by which they are measured by the FCA/PRA, and they have to publish complaints stats. You might even get some compensation having to waste so much time with an app that clearly isn't fit for purpose.

https://www.alrayanbank.co.uk/useful-info-tools/about-us/contact-us/complaints-procedure/customer-complaints-form/

d63

seems like they have pushed back the deadline to 13th march now:
https://www.alrayanbank.co.uk/
and they also have set up some kind of digital banking call-back system for people who cannot wait for someone to answer the phone.



in the meantime however, has anyone had any success in requesting one of these hard-token devices? (and what method did you use? -- telephone, secure message, or even visiting a branch in person, etc)

water4444

colsten said:

water4444 said:

Bank response 

https://www.alrayanbank.co.uk/useful-info-tools/about-us/latest-news/aug-2019/statement-23-august-2019/

So why are you still digging it up? 

Why wouldn't I? As of Aug 19 the bank allegedly was providing accounts to questionable groups. "Digging it up" implies this is no longer the case, but this isn't clear at all. From what I can see, allegations were made against the bank, the bank denied this, and then in discussions with the FCA voluntarily imposed restrictions on deposits from high risk applications. 

https://register.fca.org.uk/ShPo_FirmDetailsPage?id=001b000000MfVYKAA3#ShPo_PermissionsAnchor

This only appears to apply to new accounts. 

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2019/08/05/Qatar-owned-Al-Rayan-Bank-s-clients-include-terrorists-and-9-11-truthers.html
Controversial clients
Al Rayan’s customers include designated terrorist organizations and controversial groups linked to Hamas, according to The Times.
Using publicly available records, The Times drafted a list of organizations which have an Al Rayan bank account, including pressure groups, charities, mosques, and funders of satellite TV channels.
One group with an Al Rayan account is Interpal, a Palestinian aid charity which has been designated as a terrorist entity by the US Treasury due to alleged funding links to Hamas. The British government identified Interpal as part of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood’s British infrastructure in 2015, and its banking facilities were previously withdrawn by Natwest in 2007 and Lloyds TSB in 2008.
The Nectar Trust, previously known as Qatar Charity UK, also has an account with Al Rayan. The Times claims The Nectar Trust has received more than £37 million ($44.9 million) from Doha-based Qatar Charity and is partners with the Emaan Trust, a group whose leaders have close links to the Muslim Brotherhood, in England’s northern city of Sheffield. The Nectar Trust has been accused of founding pro-Muslim Brotherhood mosques in Europe.
The Times also found an Al Rayan account for an Islamic charity whose leader is banned from the UK. The Islamic Research Foundation International is led by Indian televangelist Zakir Naik, who was banned from the UK in 2010 following a history of controversial comments.
Naik claims that 9/11 was an inside job and has praised Osama bin Laden, saying that “every Muslim should be a terrorist” if it meant fighting the US. Naik’s satellite channel Peace TV has promoted hardliner views including four programs which breached broadcasting rules on hate speech, abuse, offense, and incitement to crime, according to an investigation by the UK regulator Ofcom.
Al Rayan also has links with several other organizations including schools and mosques which have had their accounts closed by other British banks, including the Finsbury Park Mosque, where hate preacher Abu Hamza was based in the 1990s, and charity Helping Households Under Great Stress, which supports “Muslim households impacted by counter-terrorism, national security and extremism-related laws, policies and procedures.”
Abu Hamza was the imam of Finsbury Park Mosque in London, where he preached extremism. He is currently serving a life sentence in prison in the United States, after being found guilty of eleven terrorism charges in May, 2014.

I think anyone putting money into this bank should be aware of the allegations made.

mike_robert

In reply to Soulsaver, it appears that the account types (Saver for example) have different formats. Deposit accounts have 13 numbers split into three groups. Hence the the lunacy of just asking for 'account number'. Any normal bank has a single account number of eight digits which cannot possibly confuse anyone.