Santander stopping alerts - why would they do that?

GeoffTF

It is not helpful to say that I can tell when someone has stolen a large sum of money from my account by logging in the their online system every five minutes to check..

It is unhelpful to suggest that I install their app on an old phone that has not received any security updates for years. There are lots of stories about people who have had their phones stolen and their bank accounts drained. Worse still, there have been incidents where muggers have forced people to give access to their banking apps. I do not want the added risk.

Section62

GeoffTF said:

It is not helpful to say that I can tell when someone has stolen a large sum of money from my account by logging in the their online system every five minutes to check..

It is unhelpful to suggest that I install their app on an old phone that has not received any security updates for years. There are lots of stories about people who have had their phones stolen and their bank accounts drained. Worse still, there have been incidents where muggers have forced people to give access to their banking apps. I do not want the added risk.

The 'helpful' people will probably just tell you to buy a new phone and keep it updated, and not to worry about it being stolen because biometrics make it 100% secure.

fest0r

I use the app, on an up-to-date phone, but it’s incapable of providing any type of notifications!

I received the email today too. Apart from the (more serious) security implications of not being notified about unexpected withdrawals, this is huge inconvenience and might even increase traffic on their servers. I use them for business banking and will now need to login multiple times per day just to confirm payments.

In my particular situation, it will probably result in funds staying in my account for longer. I'm sure that's entirely coincidental.

uk1

This is in fact - as I think about it - a move too far for me.  

Is there a list of banks that currently offer this feature for me to  move to?

david29dpo

I found it very usefull. 
Any other banks do it?

Lightning360

I know some people here will use it, but clearly, most people don't. Why should Santander keep a feature just to suit you? I'd rather they invest that money into better app notifications which would be a much better way of doing it.

You don't have to check the app every 5 minutes either to check for fraud. That would be ridiculous considering how few people are the victim of random fraud like that

UncleK

I don't mind if the notifications come from the app - but my point is that as a customer, I find the notifications useful and a plus point for Santander. Drop them and that makes the account less attractive - unless I can get them a different way - which at the moment it doesn't look like I can.

Section62

Lightning360 said:

I know some people here will use it, but clearly, most people don't. Why should Santander keep a feature just to suit you? I'd rather they invest that money into better app notifications which would be a much better way of doing it.

As mentioned up thread, Santander are keeping the feature, and presumably much of the vast cost associated with supporting a routine within their back-office system which automatically pings out the alerts.  They are just removing some of the types of alert - which by coincidence perhaps are ones which help customers maintain their account with a minimal balance without the risk of payments failing.

It isn't clear why Santander couldn't maintain the current level of service whilst also investing in better app notifications.  It doesn't have to be the dichotomy it is being presented as.

Lightning360

A business decision is almost always due to cost. You might not realise how, but they are almost certainly saving money on a feature that isn't widely used.

If they do end up launching an app notification feature, that will likely be better and used by a lot more people, making it much better value for money for them

gt94sss2

uk1 said:

This is in fact - as I think about it - a move too far for me.  

Is there a list of banks that currently offer this feature for me to  move to?

Your options include:

https://www.nationwide.co.uk/current-accounts/help/text-alerts/

https://www.tsb.co.uk/help-and-support/mobile-banking/text-alerts.html

https://www.barclays.co.uk/ways-to-bank/mobile-banking-services/alerts/

However, Santander are not the first to withdraw this facility and won't be the last...