Best & Worst Online Banking experience

PloughmansLunch

mikeylpool said:

PloughmansLunch said:

I don’t think any are perfect and ideally I’d like to cobble together features from several, but in order of preference:

Chase is probably my favourite to use overall as it’s got a pretty intuitive user interface and is very easy to use. If I was able to drill down for more detail on existing standing orders I’d have no complaints at all.

Interesting seeing this as for me the Chase app is possibly the worst app I have ever used and I'm only at it at the moment because of the 1% cashback. To many data updates going on and lots of visible loading/refreshing of data that you just don't see in the other apps.
This is a real shame for me, as if the app was better this would be probably the best all-rounder for me in terms of current /easy access savings as they seem to be on the ball for interest increases tracking BoE changes.

The best apps for me/online are by far the Lloyds group (halifax, Lloyds etc) but their savings products aren't competitive enough anymore.

I don’t experience any data problems or refreshing but I will say that Chase was easier to navigate and slightly better layout-wise before the newest update as you could see current and savings together. 

I’ve got a new stinker to add to the very bottom of my list - I explored the RBS app yesterday and it makes very little sense with disparate functionality. I was told to check my mailbox and I had to spend a fair bit of time clicking through submenus before I found it, whereas you might expect to find it in your profile or account info. Managing payees seems to be very fiddly too.

Bridlington1

LBG is brilliant as far as online banking is concerned. Simple to navigate and generally pretty fast. My only criticism is the lack of a webchat/secure messaging facility, though I've rarely needed to contact them anyway.

I personally do not mind Natwest/RBS's online banking too much. It doesn't feel the most up to date but is functional. Their webchat is one of the better ones out there and they can sort out issues there and then as opposed to just giving you a number to ring unlike some of the others.

Nationwide is quite good. It's got everything you need, is easy enough to navigate, quick and logging in with the card reader is certainly a lot easier than having to stick your arm out the window whilst waiting for a OTP to arrive. My main criticism though would be that they do not show references on their statements, also I'm not a big fan of the app. 

TSB is poor. They create a new internet banking profile for each current account you open and they often do not merge properly, which can be a real pain. Also I was blighted by a weird technical glitch for several weeks last year (now resolved), in which whenever I tried making a faster payment in internet banking it locked me out of internet banking and asked me to ring the fraud team, yet they allowed me to do faster payments over the phone, in branch and via the app.

For the short time I was with Barclays I found their online banking to be ok but they need to sort their account opening process. If the app isn't compatible with your smartphone you are forced to book an appointment at a branch with a wait of several weeks. It would be helpful if you could open accounts online.

Virgin money can be a bit glitchy sometimes and their webchat is about as much use as an inflatable dartboard but the rest is fine and it tends to be quick and easy to use.

I'm not really a fan of Santander's online banking as it's a bit clunky and harder to navigate than most of the others. Also the webchat can be very hit and miss as to whether it works or not.

HSBC is somewhere in the middle. Online banking itself is alright but their secure key is a pain. 

Metro bank is very easy to set up, it is limited features wise but is probably the easiest to use out of all of them. Everything is clear and feels quite modern. My only criticism is that you can't set payee nicknames though, but having said that I can tell which payee is which by looking at the reference.

Nebulous2

One man's meat is another man's poison - as the saying goes. 

Familiarity helps. 

One app that people often disliked was the HSBC one, but I quite liked it. Although it could be fussy in ways it had more functions than most of the rest, and suited me. 

I work in a healthcare setting where I have to wash and sanitise my hands regularly. If I've been working there are times that my fingerprint login doesn't work first time. The Lloyds app really annoys me, because it only gives one go, then defaults to a password / passcode. Most of the rest of them allow you to retry if your fingerprint isn't recognised first time. The process for logging in online with Lloyds was also incredibly frustrating and I several times found myself locked out and having to phone them. I haven't done it recently, as I only use the app. 

I like the Nationwide one, probably because I've used it a lot. Setting up new payees is a faff, but I rarely do that - most of my payees come from Santander. 

northwalesd

Nebulous2 said:

I work in a healthcare setting where I have to wash and sanitise my hands regularly. If I've been working there are times that my fingerprint login doesn't work first time. The Lloyds app really annoys me, because it only gives one go, then defaults to a password / passcode. 

The Llloyds app doesn't do that for me on a Galaxy A71 running Android 12, it just prompts to try again.

Eco_Miser

35har1old said:

Santander had a pretty strong security setup but they sacrificed this for speed. You used  to see a image and a phrase which you had selected. This was a sign that you where in a secure site. Now all you need is a customer no: and a five digit security code which was part of the original security setup.

My selected phrase was "Man in the middle" as a reminder that seeing the image and phrase was no guarantee that you were actually connected directly to the Santander site.

expansion

If you define worst as unreliable then must be TSB over the years. Worst in terms of limited features probably HSBC. I've been very disappointed with HSBC's app. It lacks many basic features and somehow is not intuitive navigate the few things that can be done. It's also surprised me in that it is different read worse than FD. Usually banks in the same family like Lloyds and Halifax have the same online and app with different colours. HSBC somehow manages to be behind the times of even FD.

Nebulous2

northwalesd said:

Nebulous2 said:

I work in a healthcare setting where I have to wash and sanitise my hands regularly. If I've been working there are times that my fingerprint login doesn't work first time. The Lloyds app really annoys me, because it only gives one go, then defaults to a password / passcode. 

The Llloyds app doesn't do that for me on a Galaxy A71 running Android 12, it just prompts to try again.

That's interesting. I'm on a google / Pixel phone, which I really like. Yet lloyds is the only app I can recall, which does that.... 

mikeylpool

PloughmansLunch said:

mikeylpool said:

PloughmansLunch said:

I don’t think any are perfect and ideally I’d like to cobble together features from several, but in order of preference:

Chase is probably my favourite to use overall as it’s got a pretty intuitive user interface and is very easy to use. If I was able to drill down for more detail on existing standing orders I’d have no complaints at all.

Interesting seeing this as for me the Chase app is possibly the worst app I have ever used and I'm only at it at the moment because of the 1% cashback. To many data updates going on and lots of visible loading/refreshing of data that you just don't see in the other apps.
This is a real shame for me, as if the app was better this would be probably the best all-rounder for me in terms of current /easy access savings as they seem to be on the ball for interest increases tracking BoE changes.

The best apps for me/online are by far the Lloyds group (halifax, Lloyds etc) but their savings products aren't competitive enough anymore.

I don’t experience any data problems or refreshing but I will say that Chase was easier to navigate and slightly better layout-wise before the newest update as you could see current and savings together. 

I’ve got a new stinker to add to the very bottom of my list - I explored the RBS app yesterday and it makes very little sense with disparate functionality. I was told to check my mailbox and I had to spend a fair bit of time clicking through submenus before I found it, whereas you might expect to find it in your profile or account info. Managing payees seems to be very fiddly too.

@Ploughma@PloughmansLunch
Out of interest what device do you use the app on. I'm on a decent phone but the app has lots of visible data loading (e.g. before the latest update it was probably around 10 seconds or more before it was all settled and you can start interacting with it)

PloughmansLunch

mikeylpool said:

PloughmansLunch said:

mikeylpool said:

PloughmansLunch said:

I don’t think any are perfect and ideally I’d like to cobble together features from several, but in order of preference:

Chase is probably my favourite to use overall as it’s got a pretty intuitive user interface and is very easy to use. If I was able to drill down for more detail on existing standing orders I’d have no complaints at all.

Interesting seeing this as for me the Chase app is possibly the worst app I have ever used and I'm only at it at the moment because of the 1% cashback. To many data updates going on and lots of visible loading/refreshing of data that you just don't see in the other apps.
This is a real shame for me, as if the app was better this would be probably the best all-rounder for me in terms of current /easy access savings as they seem to be on the ball for interest increases tracking BoE changes.

The best apps for me/online are by far the Lloyds group (halifax, Lloyds etc) but their savings products aren't competitive enough anymore.

I don’t experience any data problems or refreshing but I will say that Chase was easier to navigate and slightly better layout-wise before the newest update as you could see current and savings together. 

I’ve got a new stinker to add to the very bottom of my list - I explored the RBS app yesterday and it makes very little sense with disparate functionality. I was told to check my mailbox and I had to spend a fair bit of time clicking through submenus before I found it, whereas you might expect to find it in your profile or account info. Managing payees seems to be very fiddly too.

@Ploughma@PloughmansLunch
Out of interest what device do you use the app on. I'm on a decent phone but the app has lots of visible data loading (e.g. before the latest update it was probably around 10 seconds or more before it was all settled and you can start interacting with it)

A poverty-spec iPhone 7 - it’s far from a decent phone but all seems to work smoothly

[Deleted User]

expansion said:

If you define worst as unreliable then must be TSB over the years. Worst in terms of limited features probably HSBC. I've been very disappointed with HSBC's app. It lacks many basic features and somehow is not intuitive navigate the few things that can be done. It's also surprised me in that it is different read worse than FD. Usually banks in the same family like Lloyds and Halifax have the same online and app with different colours. HSBC somehow manages to be behind the times of even FD.

The HSBC app is functional and easily generates desktop login code too.
My only downvote would be Nationwide as it's digital (app/desktop) offerings are mediocre.