Online Banking

My husband wants us to get online banking but I've always been wary of this, due to all the horror stories you hear about fraud and identify theft etc.  If you use or have used online banking, how do you find it in terms of security, any problems?

I like online banking, and there are loads of security measures, which can be annoying at times, even. Case in point- I currently do not have access to my Natwest online banking because supposedly I typed in the wrong password when I wanted to set up a standing order, so they locked me out in case I was a security threat.  It's a right pain to reactivate my account too, but I guess that's by design.  If you're going with a large established bank, I really don't think you have anything to worry about WRT security, to be honest.

I've had an online account with Lloyds-TSB for a couple of years now without any problems.   Logging in to this effectively requires two passwords, although the bank refers to the second one as "memorable information," and the server just requests three characters at random from it (something of a pain when trying to check something quickly and having to count up the letters in your head, but it's extra security).    I can access both my checking/current account and credit card account, which is especially handy when checking to see if a transaction has been processed yet. 

I've found the online access particularly useful since the bank closed down the local branch I used to use and changed its telephone system so that all phone inquiries are routed to a hopeless call center 70 miles away.   

My company uses on line banking with RBS, and it's very secure and in two and a bit years we've had no problems.

Vicky

I've had online banking with NatWest since 2004.  Never a problem & always 100% satisfied (except when they occasionally tell me I'm using the wrong login, when I KNOW it's right...but usually fixes itself).

In other news, my fiancé just got a call from a NatWest Fraud Protection last night.  Someone cloned his card and was trying to use it to pull out 250 euro from an ATM in Germany!  Very awesome that they stopped it and where able to protect him.  We think it's probably from the rash of Tube station self-service cc machine scams...best way to pay is direct with the ticket agent, since thieves can't put cameras on their machines!  Luckily the bastards got his PIN wrong, so the ATM swallowed his card and NatWest was able to cancel his card automatically.

Hiya!

Online banking is safe, secure and depending on which bank(s) you are with, feature rich.

It's taken quite a few years to get to the level it is now, which is long after the US and Canada took to online banking by the mainstream

There are some 'good practices' you can put in place to minimise any data security risks

1. Ensure your Internet browser has a high 'Cipher Strength' - I only know of this in Internet Explorer - Help>about internet explorer option. Make sure it's at least 128 bit. I think IE7 comes with 256 bit. This means for secure connections, you have the highest encryption standard - I think the US military have for years been using 256 bit.

2. Ensure your PC/MAC has suitable security software. Many MAC users don't run security software, before going online to your bank(s) website, research which ever browser you have or if it's Safari and it's security strengths etc. I'd still suggest to run 'some sort' of security software on a MAC, as it's only going to be a matter of time till the vrius and malware writers start to target MAC operating system in the future. For PC users, a good firewall, upto date anti virus, and malware detectors and removers is good to ensure you keep any nasty scripts off your machine.

3. Look for the Padlock or secure connection notification in your browser - it means you have a secure connection and the browser is 'correctly connected' - look for the same whenever you shop online as well - ALL reputable online shopping sites use secure connections. Also you may want to manually type in the bank's online banking secure URL and/or use their website to click on their links to get to the login page. Don't be tempted to click a link sent to you in an email to login to the bank - it could be a 'phishing' site.

4. Don't be tempted to keep your password and memorable info and login name/details on the PC itself - if you must keep them electronically, consider getting a USB stick and holding on that only - plug in when needed, get the details and then unplug it and store safely, or use a mobile phone memory etc - basically keep it on a system thats separate to the computer - best way of course is to keep everything memorised! but I know that becomes a problem with multiple banks and information. Look into the programs which securely store ALL your passwords on the computer and are accessed via one 'master password' - they also are well tested and secure offering 256 bit encryption - the likes of symantec offer solutuons like this.

5. Login regularly - this is to be able to check for any fraudulent or unrecognised transactions that may occur. The quicker they're spotted the better the banks chances of closing access and/or investigating.

6. Make use of the other features. By logging in online, you can setup allsorts of useful stuff, bill payments and direct debits etc. If you then use Quicken or Microsoft Money you can download statements and use the software to keep an accurate track of everything


Lastly - from experience after working at Intuit and being involved with the Quicken product - there are some banks out there who have excellent user friendly systems and others that aren't so great in other areas. I've lost count the number of times I'd call *&(&)^(%*%* bank to talk to their developers and get a 'we're not offering that yet' on ther online banking.

Overall, you're very very safe when using Internet banking so long as you are security aware.

Hope this helps!

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Are you talking about having a "normal" bank account but doing transactions online, or opening an internet-only account?

I have online accounts with all my banks - it is extremely convenient, and as has been said the security is so strong that it can actually be a nuisance. For example, for my US bank, I can't log on from a computer other than my home computer - it recognises the correct IP address.

And speaking of having a US bank account, the online service is invaluable as I can do transactions with US money, such as paying my US credit cards or making wire transfers to the UK, without having to leave my house.

Regarding internet-only accounts, I recently opened one with HSBC to get the higher interest rate and it seems to be working very well so far. Lots of security there as well. The only problem with it is that you can't deposit cash so you have to already have another current account to move cash into it.

i have online access to my bank accounts: bank of america, natwest, halifax.  i actually think it's more secure than having a paper only account.  being online makes it easy for me to check each account every few days (or daily).  if there was a fradulant charge, I could querry it right away, rather than wait until my paper statement came in.

We have on-line banking with our Barclays accounts, but I totally miss my American banking in this one. With Barclays and from what I have been told other UK banks, you can only see the last 7 days worth of transactions. This makes it difficult to monitor transactions...unless you check your account almost daily. In the US, you see the last month. And you can with some banks set specific dates to see even further back.

I use RBS online banking and I think it's an absolute godsend.  It's so much easier to keep an eye on what's going in and out and any "dodgy" transactions can be spotted much quicker than paper only.  I've never had any security problems, there is a multitude of codes to enter and i'm not worried about it getting hacked in to.

Terri: I don't think it's a US/UK thing but a "your UK bank" and a "your US bank" thing.

My Halifax recent transactions go back to July whereas my wife's US account will just about tell the current balance (on a good day.)

I can see more than 7 days' worth of transactions as well on my Barclays account.  It's just that the default is 7 days.  I just change that if I want to see more.

We have on-line banking with our Barclays accounts, but I totally miss my American banking in this one. With Barclays and from what I have been told other UK banks, you can only see the last 7 days worth of transactions. This makes it difficult to monitor transactions...unless you check your account almost daily. In the US, you see the last month. And you can with some banks set specific dates to see even further back.

You can see pretty much your entire history with Barclays if you use the "Detailed Search" and/or "See Statements" buttons on the left side of the screen.

I adore banking online -- I like being able to pay all of my bills at once without having to write cheques or waiting for things to clear.  And I HATE standing in line at the bank, so online banking is ideal for me.

Another reason I don't like waiting in line and using the counter these days is that since my local branch closed and the main branch a few miles away started handling everything, they always seem to be trying to push things on you when you just want to make a deposit and get out. 

It seems that almost every other time you use the counter now, it will be "I see your account is flagged for review, when would you like to book an appointment to discuss if we can offer other services to you?"       

If I have cash or a check to deposit, these days I tend to just use the envelopes provided and drop it into the "deposit point" for processing at the end of the day -- Saves waiting in line, and saves having to put up with the sales talk.