No photo ID - No chance!

alwaysafterabargain

Read newsletter every week and have acted on many things. Debated for ages about opening a Chase account as an inheritance meant needed new bank account. Got to point interest rates made it a no-brainer. This was to be my first Bank App, although already have one on line account. Immediately hit 2 stumbling blocks - my phone needed to be minimum Android 8.1 (it is 8.1!) and next needed photo ID - passport or driving licence, neither of which I have ever had,  and, given that I am in my 70s, am not likely to have!  This is not first time I have experienced this, but can usually get around it with other proofs of ID if face to face.  Sure I can't be only person to come up against this. What we need is some sort of accepted photo ID card for older people in same way kids have one. Short of spending £90 on a passport I shall never use, where do I go from here?!

Daliah

There are at least half a dozen savings accounts which pay better rates than Chase. At least some of them identify you electronically. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/596724/the-top-easy-access-savings-discussion-area/p623

You are not likely to get any Government-issued ID other than DL and passport anytime soon. Though there has been discussion about Voter ID, it’s not likely that banks etc will modify their systems to accept them as proof of ID. In any case though, you are unlikely to get any Government issued ID document for free.

I believe you are still entitled to a provisional DL which costs just £34. It may or may not suffice as ID. But if you keep having issues because you have no ID, why not bite the bullet and get yourself a proper passport? It costs all but £7.50 a year for the next 10 years.

Mnoee

The lesser accepted cards with a pass logo are available to people at any age, not just 'kids' - you can apply for and get a Citizen card, for example, but it won't help you with a chase account. 

Sorry its not better news, but the product you're suggesting already exists but wouldn't help you here! Banks can insist on what they like, and this account wants ID you don't have, so you'll have to weigh up whether the cost of the ID is worth it for this account. 

Zanderman

alwaysafterabargain said:

... Short of spending £90 on a passport I shall never use, where do I go from here?!

You buy the passport at £85 (75 if applying online)

It lasts 10 years so arguably isn't that bad value for money if it gives you access to products and services you wouldn't get otherwise. 

Or a provisional driving licence - cheaper at £43 (34 if applying online) which also lasts 10 years so even better value (even if you are in your seventies).

(edited to add passport costs)

EarthBoy

alwaysafterabargain said:

 What we need is some sort of accepted photo ID card for older people in same way kids have one. 

Kids don't.  There are various proof of age card schemes, but none of them are official, as in issued by the government.  The only use of something like the CitizenCard is to show that you're old enough to buy alcohol, and get into nightclubs.  And the CitizenCard isn't free, you have to pay for it.

GentleGiant01

Having gone through huge problems helping my Father gain access to his own money, from his own bank with no photo ID, I feel your pain.

at a certain age, passports become free but I think it'll be a good few years wait for that yet if he's only 70. I honestly feel for the older generation - it was hard enough for me to adapt at my age to the computer age, but many in their generation are being pushed out of day to day life.

oldagetraveller1

Is a bus pass sufficient for photo i/d? Mine does display a picture of my ugly mug and is free!

"I am in my 70s" Therefore eligible if your council provide them. Mine is issued by the County Council.

No address, but from memory, neither has a passport?

Daliah

GentleGiant01 said:

 I honestly feel for the older generation - it was hard enough for me to adapt at my age to the computer age, but many in their generation are being pushed out of day to day life.

That seems overly dramatic. People who can't or won't adopt current banking technology can still get the traditional Branch service, if at reduced hours  and in fewer locations. But that's rather different to being pushed out of day to day life.

GentleGiant01 said:

Having gone through huge problems helping my Father gain access to his own money, from his own bank with no photo ID, I feel your pain.

Everybody's pain would be a lot larger if banks would just willy-nilly allow access to people's money, without checking that people are who they claim they are. A passport which costs £7.50 a year (or 2 pence a day) for the next 10 years seems a perfectly reasonable "insurance policy" to me.

[Deleted User]

GentleGiant01 said:

Having gone through huge problems helping my Father gain access to his own money, from his own bank with no photo ID, I feel your pain.

at a certain age, passports become free but I think it'll be a good few years wait for that yet if he's only 70. I honestly feel for the older generation - it was hard enough for me to adapt at my age to the computer age, but many in their generation are being pushed out of day to day life.

Nobody is being pushed out of day to day life, Luddites may choose not to engage with the modern world but that is their choice, plenty of people in their 70s, 80s even 90s travel, use smart phones, computers, internet banking etc 

eskbanker

alwaysafterabargain said:

Sure I can't be only person to come up against this.

No, similarly-phrased posts are far from uncommon, such as this lengthy thread for example:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6346094/photo-id-only-for-new-chase-1-5-bank-account-and-other-things/p1

oldagetraveller1 said:

Is a bus pass sufficient for photo i/d?

Possibly for some scenarios, but not financial products, and Chase are quite clear about what they will (and implicitly, won't) accept:

You can open a Chase account with a valid photo ID. 

We'll accept any of the following:

• A passport
• A UK driving licence
• An EU national ID card

Rudyson

I have no problem with Chase requiring specific photo ID if necessary, my main beef with them  is that they have no means of trying electronic verification first. I have opened many accounts before and since and every one has verified me in seconds without needing further proof of ID. If Chase embraced modern technology and used electronic verification, fewer people would be 'locked out.' It would also mean less work for Chase employees, who wouldn't have to field questions from old farts like me asking if there's any way round the photo ID problem.

With hindsight, and an existing Virgin account, I think I dodged a bullet.