Desktop Alternative to FirstDirect "Internet Banking Plus"

Gosh yes, I tried Egg's Money Manager back in the day, too, (they gave me a fiver for adding an organisation!) Seem to remember it was uglier than IBP, but not quite as ugly as eWise!

Funny, am I the only one who feels like they are standing by the bedside of an elderly but interesting uncle who has been ill for years, and isn't expected to last the night? The room is filling up with distant relatives who have come to witness his passing, and to reminisce about his accomplishments and talk about what cool bloke he was in his prime. I hope everyone has brought some beer to drink at the wake!

I don't think the eWise platform has ever reported data back to anyone, as that wasn't its purpose. That only really got going when the new generation of aggregators, like Yodlee, (the tech company behind Money Dashboard and others), got into the game. Back in the day I think eWise sold their service to banks as a bit of value added for their customers, and that was it.

They still do the same thing with their new, all singing, all dancing app-based version. It seems to be everything we wish IBP was and isn't, but unfortunately it seems to be for sale to US corporations only, and definitely not for the public at large. I guess it wouldn't work like we'd want it to either now, but it'd still be a neat portal to have on your phone. Sigh.

In case anyone is still coming here, I thought I'd mention that I'm happily using eWise, with the occasional look at Money Dashboard, and it's working pretty well for me. Money Dashboard give me a balance sheet, if I want it, and eWise gives me access to my accounts. I choose which to use to get my balances depending on what I want.

eWise isn't as easy on the eye as IBP, for sure, but I'm getting used to it, and liking the fact that I can choose to update just one organisation, by unchecking and rechecking the box beside it. With IBP it was all or nothing. eWise is also faster, presumably due to the lack of cosmetic bloat. I also like the fact you effectively have a 'stop' button, where if you realise one organisation is slowing things down, you can just uncheck it and it stops. I've been asking for something like that from IBP for years! Some organisations are still troublesome, but it's easier not having to run the whole blasted cycle over and over again because Internet Explorer has decided it's all too much.

Banks have been given a stay of execution on introducing their new measures, but in fact I have found that some who have made changes already are still perfectly accessible. It seems to depend on how each bank has chosen to satisfy the requirements, as there is no hard and fast rule about it. One of my organisations requires a verification code now, which I have to get from the app, but the same app also provides a 'quick balance' without a login, (presumably via Open Banking), so not too bad.

I see this continuing to work for me, with the odd tweak, for some time to come. Also of interest is the news that eWise are apparently developing a multiple-browser version of Account Unity, which they say will be available 'soon'. Good to know there will be life after Internet Explorer!