We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

Nationwide asking to confirm identity 6 years later!?

135

Comments

  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 35,216 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    boingy said:
    I'm certain some of these banks are using KYC as a golden opportunity to gather more data on customers than the legislation requires. They are big businesses and your data is valuable.
    ...but as with any size of business handling personal data, they're subject to the Data Protection Act and can only use it in accordance with their privacy policy:

    https://www.nationwide.co.uk/about-us/cookies-privacy/how-we-use-your-information/
  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 35,216 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    boingy said:
    eskbanker said:
    boingy said:
    I'm certain some of these banks are using KYC as a golden opportunity to gather more data on customers than the legislation requires. They are big businesses and your data is valuable.
    ...but as with any size of business handling personal data, they're subject to the Data Protection Act and can only use it in accordance with their privacy policy:

    https://www.nationwide.co.uk/about-us/cookies-privacy/how-we-use-your-information/
    Yep absolutely, but they justify it with KYC and we can't really argue. I don't believe any bank needs to know exactly where you work, exactly what you do and exactly when you started. Do you think they are checking that data? Do they phone up your employer? No they don't. They just add it to their big data and use it to guide future business decisions.

    To be clear, I'm not talking about Nationwide specifically. Maybe they are whiter than white but on here we've seen large differences between what each bank are asking for KYC. That's because they each have been left to decide what they need to do and I'm sure some will be gathering more data than they truly should be. 
    Yes, in the absence of a specific data set prescribed by legislation, it's undoubtedly true that different businesses will have different interpretations of the requirement to ascertain source of income, but that doesn't necessarily mean that what could be considered 'extra' data is actually valuable as such, or that it's used to guide future business decisions - my point was specifically about use of the data rather than its capture and it seems likely to me that some will see themselves as erring on the side of caution by gathering more data than others, e.g. for when the FCA come calling, rather than doing so to drive marketing campaigns or whatever.
  • k12479
    k12479 Posts: 777 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    boingy said:
    eskbanker said:
    boingy said:
    I'm certain some of these banks are using KYC as a golden opportunity to gather more data on customers than the legislation requires. They are big businesses and your data is valuable.
    ...but as with any size of business handling personal data, they're subject to the Data Protection Act and can only use it in accordance with their privacy policy:

    https://www.nationwide.co.uk/about-us/cookies-privacy/how-we-use-your-information/
    Yep absolutely, but they justify it with KYC and we can't really argue. I don't believe any bank needs to know exactly where you work, exactly what you do and exactly when you started. Do you think they are checking that data? Do they phone up your employer? No they don't. They just add it to their big data and use it to guide future business decisions.
    Quite easy to see how such data could help with KYC, pretty simple to run such checks based on data.

    An office worker for a blue-chip depositing a lot, regularly each month in cash? Hmm..may raise eyebrows and worth checking up on. Less eyebrow raising if the customer's occupation was market trader.

    A clerical worker with £100k going through their account? Hmm...
  • boingy
    boingy Posts: 1,664 Forumite
    1,000 Posts First Anniversary Name Dropper
    The banks are not on our side, despite the cuddly adverts. They aim to make as much money out of us as they can get away with. It's naïve to think otherwise. Data is money. In 5 or 10 years time we'll be reading about KYC data abuse, probably after a class lawsuit. 
  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 35,216 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    boingy said:
    The banks are not on our side, despite the cuddly adverts. They aim to make as much money out of us as they can get away with. It's naïve to think otherwise. Data is money. In 5 or 10 years time we'll be reading about KYC data abuse, probably after a class lawsuit. 
    Who claimed that banks are on our side?  As you said, they're big businesses, operating to make a profit, which inevitably comes from customers paying for services, so it would certainly be naive to expect that not to influence their actions!

    And yes, if data gathered for KYC purposes is abused, then this would be in breach of privacy policies and/or data protection legislation and therefore subject to enforcement action....
  • Nebulous2
    Nebulous2 Posts: 5,501 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    boingy said:
    The banks are not on our side, despite the cuddly adverts. They aim to make as much money out of us as they can get away with. It's naïve to think otherwise. Data is money. In 5 or 10 years time we'll be reading about KYC data abuse, probably after a class lawsuit. 

    I'm old enough to remember having to pay a bank for each transaction I made. Free banking was a great boon, took off and now it is expected by everyone and would be extremely difficult to get rid of.

    I've 4 different banks paying me over a fiver a month in cash or kind. They pay staff to look after me and answer the phone, pay cash machine companies to supply me with cash, and some of them even supply a branch network. Quite a few of them pay me above base rate for regular savers. I still haven't got over a mild sense of wonderment that all this exists. 

    I'm under no illusion that they are my friends. I know they are commercial organisations who want to make money. I just don't think they are making a very good fist of it from me. 

    Going back to your question about whether they are checking your data - they may not be, but they will be checking it against National Hunter. It would be very foolish to make stuff up and change your answers, as you could find yourself without a bank at all. 






  • Ergates
    Ergates Posts: 2,772 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    boingy said:
    eskbanker said:
    boingy said:
    I'm certain some of these banks are using KYC as a golden opportunity to gather more data on customers than the legislation requires. They are big businesses and your data is valuable.
    ...but as with any size of business handling personal data, they're subject to the Data Protection Act and can only use it in accordance with their privacy policy:

    https://www.nationwide.co.uk/about-us/cookies-privacy/how-we-use-your-information/
    Yep absolutely, but they justify it with KYC and we can't really argue. I don't believe any bank needs to know exactly where you work, exactly what you do and exactly when you started. Do you think they are checking that data? Do they phone up your employer? No they don't. They just add it to their big data and use it to guide future business decisions.

    To be clear, I'm not talking about Nationwide specifically. Maybe they are whiter than white but on here we've seen large differences between what each bank are asking for KYC. That's because they each have been left to decide what they need to do and I'm sure some will be gathering more data than they truly should be. 
    Exactly where you work, what you do, when you started - no.   But they do have a legitimate interest in knowing the type of job your have and the type of industry you work in and when you start working somewhere new - in order to be able to carry out the AML checks they are legally required to do.  i.e.  They don't need to know the difference between a software engineer at Microsoft and a DBA at IBM, but they do need to know the difference between a software engineer at Microsoft, a delivery person for KFC and a self-employed plumber as this will have a direct impact on the amount and types of funds coming into your account.

    boingy said:
    The banks are not on our side, despite the cuddly adverts. They aim to make as much money out of us as they can get away with. It's naïve to think otherwise. Data is money. In 5 or 10 years time we'll be reading about KYC data abuse, probably after a class lawsuit. 
    It's not a matter of being on anyone's side - it's about meeting regulatory requirements.

    If a bank makes unauthorised use of this information then that is a breach of GDPR, but that doesn't change the fact that they need to gather this data to avoid getting slapped by the regulators.
  • nottsphil
    nottsphil Posts: 596 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 1 December 2024 at 3:29PM
    Nasqueron said:
    blomft said:
    I've had this happen recently too,  I can understand the reason for ID checks etc periodically, But they were asking for many personal Details, where do I work, when I started work there, how much do I earn etc etc.
     I can't see any reason why they should want or need this information unless they want to sell me things. 
     If it is a new legal requirement, then why aren't other banks asking for this detailed information?
    Imagine you had 3k a month coming in but you had no official job for example - they could get in trouble for not checking if you were laundering cash - yes the KYC checks are a legal requirement. If your data is up to date with others then you won't e.g. if you applied and provided ID like a driving licence 
    But it's not cash, is it. 
    I have about £4000 of funds going into regular savings with organisations who have no idea about my income.
    The origin of the money is never queried and nor would I expect it to be, because they are cleared funds from other organizations. 
  • Ergates
    Ergates Posts: 2,772 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    nottsphil said:
    Nasqueron said:
    blomft said:
    I've had this happen recently too,  I can understand the reason for ID checks etc periodically, But they were asking for many personal Details, where do I work, when I started work there, how much do I earn etc etc.
     I can't see any reason why they should want or need this information unless they want to sell me things. 
     If it is a new legal requirement, then why aren't other banks asking for this detailed information?
    Imagine you had 3k a month coming in but you had no official job for example - they could get in trouble for not checking if you were laundering cash - yes the KYC checks are a legal requirement. If your data is up to date with others then you won't e.g. if you applied and provided ID like a driving licence 
    But it's not cash, is it. 
    I have about £4000 of funds going into regular savings with organisations who have no idea about my income.
    The origin of the money is never queried and nor would I expect it to be, because they are cleared funds from other organizations. 
    So..... what's your point?
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 348.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 452.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 240.8K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 617K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 175.6K Life & Family
  • 254K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.