Annoying changes to security on Nationwide

Coolhandluke

When I enquired about this I was told If my phone had a finger print reader then I wouldn't need to use my card reader. 

Ergates

samwardill said:

Nationwide have recently started asking for card reader confirmation for transactions made on their mobile app. They insist that they have always done this but they have never done this on my account before. I used to pay my builder from the app for huge amounts. This is really annoying because it means I need to carry a card reader as well as a mobile phone. I don't know why they can not use a properly authenticated app or a mobile phone text confirmation like other banks.

The problem with password via SMS is that if the banking app is also on your phone then it's not really 2 factor authentication - as anyone who has your phone would also receive any SMS sent to it.

masonic

Ergates said:

samwardill said:

Nationwide have recently started asking for card reader confirmation for transactions made on their mobile app. They insist that they have always done this but they have never done this on my account before. I used to pay my builder from the app for huge amounts. This is really annoying because it means I need to carry a card reader as well as a mobile phone. I don't know why they can not use a properly authenticated app or a mobile phone text confirmation like other banks.

The problem with password via SMS is that if the banking app is also on your phone then it's not really 2 factor authentication - as anyone who has your phone would also receive any SMS sent to it.

In some cases this will be true, but a phone secured with a strong password or biometrics and set to lock after a short time would be 2FA as anyone would need device + lockscreen password or device + biometrics to gain access to the app.

It is also good practice in this age when SMS is wrongly treated as secure, to configure your device not to display the contents of SMS messages on the lockscreen. Unfortunately there are no mitigating steps you can take against SIM-swap.

k2406

I have gone back to old fashioned banking, opened a reward account at my local Halifax,  great customer service,  friendly staff who can’t do enough for you. You can pay bills at the branch said I don’t want online banking, fully cheesed off with all these login’s, passwords and security codes.
I can withdraw cash easily have a debit card  and pay in at the local post office if necessary, perfect for me.

blue.peter

k2406 said:

I have gone back to old fashioned banking, opened a reward account at my local Halifax,  great customer service,  friendly staff who can’t do enough for you. You can pay bills at the branch said I don’t want online banking, fully cheesed off with all these login’s, passwords and security codes.
I can withdraw cash easily have a debit card  and pay in at the local post office if necessary, perfect for me.

That's great for you.

Unfortunately, bank branches are becoming fewer and further between. Getting to one isn't practicable for everyone. I live in a fair-sized town (Salisbury), but even for me it's a 20 minute each way bus ride (plus waiting time), costing £3.70 return, to get to a bank. Being retired, I don't go there frequently. I wouldn't want to have to do that just to pay a bill. And not all bills can be automated by DD.

It's even worse for people in remote villages: many of them no longer have any bank at all.

For a lot of people, internet banking is more or less a necessity.

Socajam

Ergates said:

samwardill said:

Nationwide have recently started asking for card reader confirmation for transactions made on their mobile app. They insist that they have always done this but they have never done this on my account before. I used to pay my builder from the app for huge amounts. This is really annoying because it means I need to carry a card reader as well as a mobile phone. I don't know why they can not use a properly authenticated app or a mobile phone text confirmation like other banks.

The problem with password via SMS is that if the banking app is also on your phone then it's not really 2 factor authentication - as anyone who has your phone would also receive any SMS sent to it.

You cannot blame the banks for that.
They can only do so much, and no everyone are going to be happy

badger09

DevilsAdvocate1 said:

It has become difficult.  I only use the website to check the account balance but I now need a card reader for that.  Our also broke a long time ago so my husband requested a new one. It arrived, but I've no idea where its gone (I've been doing a massive clearout and might have thrown it away by mistake).  Its making it realy hard to manage my account so I'm thinking of closing it.  All I want to do is it regularly view the balance so I can make sure we stop spending at the right time.

Do you have a smartphone? If so, download Nationwide's app & you can check your balance to your heart's content, without needed the card reader

blue.peter

badger09 said:

Do you have a smartphone? If so, download Nationwide's app & you can check your balance to your heart's content, without needed the card reader

Or you can have a One-Time Passcode sent to your mobile phone instead of having to use a cardreader to log on. (Just select "Passnumber and code by text" instead of "Card reader".)

colsten

DevilsAdvocate1 said:

It has become difficult.  I only use the website to check the account balance but I now need a card reader for that.  Our also broke a long time ago so my husband requested a new one. It arrived, but I've no idea where its gone (I've been doing a massive clearout and might have thrown it away by mistake).  Its making it realy hard to manage my account so I'm thinking of closing it.  All I want to do is it regularly view the balance so I can make sure we stop spending at the right time.

You do not need your card reader to check your balance. You can log in without it. More than that, Nationwide offer "Quick Balance" if you use the Nationwide app. Your balance will be visible without even logging in, on all the devices you have the app running on, incl. on an Apple Watch if you have one of these.

You can also set up text alerts when your balance drops below an amount of your choice.

However, controlling your budget through a current account is not the smartest approach as your current account balance does not look into the future and therefore doesn't reflect any forthcoming SOs or DDs. Nor can you rely on your current account balance to always be bang up to date. Using a personal finance package is the right way to go about managing your money.

General_Grant

General_Grant said:

I'd not been asked for card reader authorisation until very recently when I was paying to an account set up ages ago but not used for some months.  Not having needed the reader for so long, I had not bothered to get a replacement when the old one ceased to work.  About a week ago I requested a replacement.  Still waiting though the website acknowledge request.  (Yes, I know another bank's reader would work but one needs one that works!)

Pleased to say the card reader arrived today so I can now pay another account that I had paid in the past and was already set up.

Someone suggested putting new batteries in - that rather depends on having suitable batteries available.
Another person suggested going into a branch - I'm self-isolating.