Push towards banking apps 21 January at 3:51PM in Budgeting & bank accounts 70 replies 3.9K views

leboff

I want to open a Barclays ISA, but checking their website found I either had to download their app or make an appointment to go into a branch. I prefer not to use banking apps on my phone, and my 3 nearest branches could only offer appointments in March-  6 weeks away. I phoned Barclays today to ask why it was so difficult to open an account, and was told that only the app or in branch could do the ID verification required. I have opened many accounts online over the years with different banks and savings providers, all of whom had no problem with ID verification. So Barclays are not getting my money. 

Branch closures and the push to online banking already excludes some of the most marginalised in society- the push towards apps will only make this worse.

wmb194

leboff said:

I want to open a Barclays ISA, but checking their website found I either had to download their app or make an appointment to go into a branch. I prefer not to use banking apps on my phone, and my 3 nearest branches could only offer appointments in March-  6 weeks away. I phoned Barclays today to ask why it was so difficult to open an account, and was told that only the app or in branch could do the ID verification required. I have opened many accounts online over the years with different banks and savings providers, all of whom had no problem with ID verification. So Barclays are not getting my money. 

Branch closures and the push to online banking already excludes some of the most marginalised in society- the push towards apps will only make this worse.

Or you could just use banking apps on your phone. Why you don't want to?

leboff

wmb194 said:

leboff said:

I want to open a Barclays ISA, but checking their website found I either had to download their app or make an appointment to go into a branch. I prefer not to use banking apps on my phone, and my 3 nearest branches could only offer appointments in March-  6 weeks away. I phoned Barclays today to ask why it was so difficult to open an account, and was told that only the app or in branch could do the ID verification required. I have opened many accounts online over the years with different banks and savings providers, all of whom had no problem with ID verification. So Barclays are not getting my money. 

Branch closures and the push to online banking already excludes some of the most marginalised in society- the push towards apps will only make this worse.

Or you could just use banking apps on your phone. Why you don't want to?

I just don't like using my phone for financial purposes. Also I've had a negative experience with facial recognition software, which Barclays use.

wmb194

leboff said:

wmb194 said:

leboff said:

I want to open a Barclays ISA, but checking their website found I either had to download their app or make an appointment to go into a branch. I prefer not to use banking apps on my phone, and my 3 nearest branches could only offer appointments in March-  6 weeks away. I phoned Barclays today to ask why it was so difficult to open an account, and was told that only the app or in branch could do the ID verification required. I have opened many accounts online over the years with different banks and savings providers, all of whom had no problem with ID verification. So Barclays are not getting my money. 

Branch closures and the push to online banking already excludes some of the most marginalised in society- the push towards apps will only make this worse.

Or you could just use banking apps on your phone. Why you don't want to?

I just don't like using my phone for financial purposes. Also I've had a negative experience with facial recognition software, which Barclays use.

It doesn't feel like an insurmountable problem; install it temporarily to apply for the account, then uninstall it and subsequently use Barclays' browser based internet banking.

You're also not forced to use face ID to login.

Edit: Another option for mobile apps is to use a tablet.

phillw

friend signed up for Barclay's current account to get the ISA and it was one of the least painful sign ups recently.

pafpcg

wmb194 said:

leboff said:

I want to open a Barclays ISA, but checking their website found I either had to download their app or make an appointment to go into a branch. I prefer not to use banking apps on my phone, and my 3 nearest branches could only offer appointments in March-  6 weeks away. I phoned Barclays today to ask why it was so difficult to open an account, and was told that only the app or in branch could do the ID verification required. I have opened many accounts online over the years with different banks and savings providers, all of whom had no problem with ID verification. So Barclays are not getting my money. 

Branch closures and the push to online banking already excludes some of the most marginalised in society- the push towards apps will only make this worse.

Or you could just use banking apps on your phone. Why you don't want to?

Perhaps because failing eyesight makes a small screen difficult to read and arthritis in the fingers nigh-on impossible to operate the tiny "keys"?  My partner has to use a magnifying glass to read any text messages from family but can't reply - contrast that with the PC's 19" high-resolution monitor and a trusty 30+ years-old IBM keyboard which we can both use all day long. 

wmb194

pafpcg said:

wmb194 said:

leboff said:

I want to open a Barclays ISA, but checking their website found I either had to download their app or make an appointment to go into a branch. I prefer not to use banking apps on my phone, and my 3 nearest branches could only offer appointments in March-  6 weeks away. I phoned Barclays today to ask why it was so difficult to open an account, and was told that only the app or in branch could do the ID verification required. I have opened many accounts online over the years with different banks and savings providers, all of whom had no problem with ID verification. So Barclays are not getting my money. 

Branch closures and the push to online banking already excludes some of the most marginalised in society- the push towards apps will only make this worse.

Or you could just use banking apps on your phone. Why you don't want to?

Perhaps because failing eyesight makes a small screen difficult to read and arthritis in the fingers nigh-on impossible to operate the tiny "keys"?  My partner has to use a magnifying glass to read any text messages from family but can't reply - contrast that with the PC's 19" high-resolution monitor and a trusty 30+ years-old IBM keyboard which we can both use all day long. 

So remote control your phone with your PC or use a phone/tablet connected to a monitor and a keyboard. Again, not insurmountable. I'm actually typing this on a keyboard with a mouse attached to my iPad which is connected to a larger monitor* than yours. The excuses people make are a little ridiculous.

*Using a recent addition to iPadOS called Stage Manager whereby the monitor is actually a second desktop in 4k and not just a mirror of the iPad's screen, although in the context of most apps that would work for most people.

leboff

wmb194 said:

pafpcg said:

wmb194 said:

leboff said:

I want to open a Barclays ISA, but checking their website found I either had to download their app or make an appointment to go into a branch. I prefer not to use banking apps on my phone, and my 3 nearest branches could only offer appointments in March-  6 weeks away. I phoned Barclays today to ask why it was so difficult to open an account, and was told that only the app or in branch could do the ID verification required. I have opened many accounts online over the years with different banks and savings providers, all of whom had no problem with ID verification. So Barclays are not getting my money. 

Branch closures and the push to online banking already excludes some of the most marginalised in society- the push towards apps will only make this worse.

Or you could just use banking apps on your phone. Why you don't want to?

Perhaps because failing eyesight makes a small screen difficult to read and arthritis in the fingers nigh-on impossible to operate the tiny "keys"?  My partner has to use a magnifying glass to read any text messages from family but can't reply - contrast that with the PC's 19" high-resolution monitor and a trusty 30+ years-old IBM keyboard which we can both use all day long. 

So remote control your phone with your PC or use a phone/tablet connected to a monitor and a keyboard. Again, not insurmountable. I'm actually typing this on a keyboard with a mouse attached to my iPad which is connected to a larger monitor* than yours. The excuses people make are a little ridiculous.

*Using a recent addition to iPadOS called Stage Manager whereby the monitor is actually a second desktop in 4k and not just a mirror of the iPad's screen, although in the context of most apps that would work for most people.

 Please don't be rude or condescending, people are talking about their experience, not making ridiculous excuses. I admire your level of tech skill but please remember that we are not all at your level.

wmb194

leboff said:

wmb194 said:

pafpcg said:

wmb194 said:

leboff said:

I want to open a Barclays ISA, but checking their website found I either had to download their app or make an appointment to go into a branch. I prefer not to use banking apps on my phone, and my 3 nearest branches could only offer appointments in March-  6 weeks away. I phoned Barclays today to ask why it was so difficult to open an account, and was told that only the app or in branch could do the ID verification required. I have opened many accounts online over the years with different banks and savings providers, all of whom had no problem with ID verification. So Barclays are not getting my money. 

Branch closures and the push to online banking already excludes some of the most marginalised in society- the push towards apps will only make this worse.

Or you could just use banking apps on your phone. Why you don't want to?

Perhaps because failing eyesight makes a small screen difficult to read and arthritis in the fingers nigh-on impossible to operate the tiny "keys"?  My partner has to use a magnifying glass to read any text messages from family but can't reply - contrast that with the PC's 19" high-resolution monitor and a trusty 30+ years-old IBM keyboard which we can both use all day long. 

So remote control your phone with your PC or use a phone/tablet connected to a monitor and a keyboard. Again, not insurmountable. I'm actually typing this on a keyboard with a mouse attached to my iPad which is connected to a larger monitor* than yours. The excuses people make are a little ridiculous.

*Using a recent addition to iPadOS called Stage Manager whereby the monitor is actually a second desktop in 4k and not just a mirror of the iPad's screen, although in the context of most apps that would work for most people.

 Please don't be rude or condescending, people are talking about their experience, not making ridiculous excuses. I admire your level of tech skill but please remember that we are not all at your level.

You don't need amazing tech skills, just a little lateral thinking and/or a small understanding of modern devices' capabilities.

Rob5342

leboff said:

Branch closures and the push to online banking already excludes some of the most marginalised in society- the push towards apps will only make this worse.

Branches are relics of the past and everything will move towards apps. The answer isn't to not move towards apps, it's for the banks to develop accessible apps so anyone can use them without any problems.

Rob5342

pafpcg said:

wmb194 said:

leboff said:

I want to open a Barclays ISA, but checking their website found I either had to download their app or make an appointment to go into a branch. I prefer not to use banking apps on my phone, and my 3 nearest branches could only offer appointments in March-  6 weeks away. I phoned Barclays today to ask why it was so difficult to open an account, and was told that only the app or in branch could do the ID verification required. I have opened many accounts online over the years with different banks and savings providers, all of whom had no problem with ID verification. So Barclays are not getting my money. 

Branch closures and the push to online banking already excludes some of the most marginalised in society- the push towards apps will only make this worse.

Or you could just use banking apps on your phone. Why you don't want to?

My partner has to use a magnifying glass to read any text messages from family but can't reply - contrast that with the PC's 19" high-resolution monitor and a trusty 30+ years-old IBM keyboard which we can both use all day long. 

Have they tried installing an app to make the phone easier to read, for example this one?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=name.kunes.android.launcher.bigmessages&hl=en_GB&gl=US