# Rabodirect, easy to manage money?



## paperclip (4 Dec 2007)

hi, i'll be traveling next year, and will be borrowing money from the credit union, 15k.

i'd like to have 5k readaly available, split between my current account, and on my credit card.

the other 10k, i'm thinking of putting in a rabbo online savings account.

when needs be, i intend to transfer money from the rabo savings account to my current account.

rabbo's site looks freindly enough, and they give the impression that this is no problem, but thought it would be to get some real world experiences on here first.

so, is it easy enough to transfer money from a rabo online account to an online current account? i'm with ptsb.

is it just a matter of signing in with user names and passwords, and transfering the money online? like an online bank account?

is the money transfered imediatly, or do you have to wait a few days?

ta


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## Nosferatu (4 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*

In short, no. Not for your case anyway. The reason is that you need this dongle I think its called. It's basically a small electronic device that generates a unique code for each transaction. So seeing as you are travelling, I can't see it being that easy to always have on hand. And if you lose it, I can only see it being a painful process of getting it replaced.


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## paddi22 (4 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*

Yeah i'd second that. 

The dongle is a bit of a pain. I would worry about losing it or it being damaged (spillages, getting bashed in bag etc) during travelling. Also there is a delay while money transfers over between banks. 

When i was travelling I transferred between AIB accounts and found it perfect, money moved instantly and i could see my credit card balance and all.

Is there no way of setting up accounts online with ptsb? it would be a lot less hassle.


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## IrlJidel (4 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*

While it may be a pain to travel with the dongle,  the flip-side is that it is more secure if you are using public computers.

If you're planning to access the interest via web cafes the risk is that they may be infected with spyware and key-loggers.  Even if they were infected, they won't be able to access your rabo account without your dongle.


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## RaboDirect (4 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*

The 'dongle' is called a Digipass and is required to log on and execute all transactions. Relying on simple user name/numbers and static passwords are very vulnerable to 'phishing' attacks and keystroke logging. RaboDirect's customers have not fallen victim to electronic fraud and this is largely due to the level of protection we have implemented. This cannot be said for the banks in Ireland that rely on static passwords and PIN's.

You will find that the other banks will start to adopt this kind of technology and indeed are slowly starting to. In fact, banks in the UK will be adopting common standards of this type of technology. Here is an example of the type of card reader that can be used http://www.vasco.com/products/product.html?product=59

The[broken link removed] that RaboDirect uses is pretty robust and can generally withstand a bashing ...not that we recommend it of course. 

Re electronic transfers from RaboDirect. If you transfer your funds before 12.00 on a working day they should hit your destination account the next working day. Occasionally there can be delays in the clearing system but these are not down to us and can sometimes be due to issues with the destination bank.


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## paperclip (6 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*

dongle! hmmm, can anyone recomend a saving account that doesn't require a card reader?


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## ClubMan (6 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*

Most of the ones in the _Financial Best Buys _list don't. In fact _Rabo _may be the only one that does. Bear in mind however that this arguably (or actually?) makes _Rabo's _offering inherently more secure.


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## Godfather (6 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*

Hi paperclip, mine is just an opinion but I love them as regards ease of use of the rabo internet banking... To me it's one of the easiest if not even the best.

For one reason: if I have to create a payee with all the other banks I have to contact the customer service. With Rabo I can do everything on-line.

Furthermore, I can easily plan my payments with their standing orders without risking my interests... E.g. standing orders from their savings to c/a and from their c/a to payee on the same planned date for the same amount -> They work perfectly!

What I don't like too much is:
- the fact that sometimes they join this forum just to advertise their product
- their customer service on the phone sometimes seems to know less than me on how to use their internet banking
- the 5% up to 10000 Euro isn't yet approved for 2008 as well...

I hope this helps...


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## paperclip (6 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*



Godfather said:


> Hi paperclip, mine is just an opinion but I love them as regards ease of use of the rabo internet banking... To me it's one of the easiest if not even the best.
> 
> For one reason: if I have to create a payee with all the other banks I have to contact the customer service. With Rabo I can do everything on-line.
> 
> ...



thanks....... hmmm, 5% not approved for 2008..... that would be a deal breaker


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## RaboDirect (6 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*



Godfather said:


> What I don't like too much is:
> - the fact that sometimes they join this forum just to advertise their product
> .



Godfather, 
We actually try hard to make sure we don't advertise our products. Maybe some people might think our posts are a form of sales pitch but they are genuinely not intended to be. (The cynics out there are laughing at this I'm sure!!). On occasion we sometimes run posts past moderators if we think it could cross the line. To be fair, when you read the vast majority of our posts you will see that we are responding to queries, clarifying issues about our products/security/internet banking/credit ratings etc, apologising when we screw up and sometimes defending ourselves which is our right. Using a forum such as AAM to cynically advertise our products runs contrary to the spirit of discussion forums and in any case, would soon have us banned from AAM and do us no good at all. 

Thanks for the positive feedback on the points you mentioned. Regarding our rates for next year - we will announce this before the year end. On the customer service front - we generally get very high satisfaction scores but there's always room to improve. If you have specific issues please PM us so we can address them.

RaboDirect


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## shanegl (7 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*

No need to advertise on the forum when you send out spam emails on a regular basis I guess.


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## ClubMan (7 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*

I have been critical of _Rabo's _unsolicited emails (got them again recently in spite of not signing up to anything), the fact that they sometimes give what looks like a sales pitch here, and the fact that initially I found some things about their account confusing (e.g. the need for a current account when moving money out). However, having said all that, I do find their account easy to operate, secure (and the digipass simple to operate and compact enough) and the deposit returns have been a lot better than from a lot of other institutions for a while now. Hopefully they can retain or improve on the 5% for €10K in 2008.


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## my2leftfeet (7 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*



paperclip said:


> thanks....... hmmm, 5% not approved for 2008..... that would be a deal breaker


 
Absolutely ... for me too!


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## colc1 (8 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*



ClubMan said:


> I have been critical of _Rabo's _unsolicited emails (got them again recently in spite of not signing up to anything), the fact that they sometimes give what looks like a sales pitch here, and the fact that initially I found some things about their account confusing (e.g. the need for a current account when moving money out). However, having said all that, I do find their account easy to operate, secure (and the digipass simple to operate and compact enough) and the deposit returns have been a lot better than from a lot of other institutions for a while now. Hopefully they can retain or improve on the 5% for €10K in 2008.


 
sorry if this has been asked already but rabo give the impression you have to have a current a/c with them when opening a savings a/c is this correct?  If so are there charges on the current a/c?

Many thanks in advance for any answers,


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## DrMoriarty (8 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*

No. You need their current a/c simply because you can't transfer money directly out of their savings a/c (the one that earns the interest) — you have to first transfer the money from your Rabodirect savings a/c to your Rabodirect current a/c, and thence onwards to your nominated (other) bank account. Bit silly, really.

I seem to remember  posting here recently to the effect that they were planning to remove this 'technical' requirement...(?)


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## ClubMan (8 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*

On the other hand you can transfer money directly into the savings account and it does not need to go via the current account. The current account is really just a bit of an anomaly in my view and only needed when transferring out. And it *IS *confusing in my opinion too!


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## RaboDirect (9 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*

Agreed. We will be phasing out the current account from February 2008. Assuming all goes to plan we will open the Savings Account to external transfers.


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## GeneralZod (9 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*



RaboDirect said:


> We will be phasing out the current account from February 2008.



Great, that is annoying.  

Any chance of increasing the €10k limit while you're at it? How about €15k to match First Active.


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## z101 (9 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*

What would you do if you lose your digithingy and need to do a transaction?


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## ClubMan (9 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*

You need to get a new one from _Rabo_. Last time I asked them (turned out to be a false alarm) they told me that there was no charge for a replacement. Note that the digipass is secured by a _PIN _so it falling into the wrong hands is not a problem as lon as the _PIN _is not also obtained.


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## colc1 (10 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*

Next question then: are there charges on the current a/c because I am seriously considering opening the savings a/c myself and this could be a deal breaker?


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## Godfather (10 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*



RaboDirect said:


> Godfather,
> We actually try hard to make sure we don't advertise our products. Maybe some people might think our posts are a form of sales pitch but they are genuinely not intended to be. (The cynics out there are laughing at this I'm sure!!). On occasion we sometimes run posts past moderators if we think it could cross the line. To be fair, when you read the vast majority of our posts you will see that we are responding to queries, clarifying issues about our products/security/internet banking/credit ratings etc, apologising when we screw up and sometimes defending ourselves which is our right. Using a forum such as AAM to cynically advertise our products runs contrary to the spirit of discussion forums and in any case, would soon have us banned from AAM and do us no good at all.
> 
> Thanks for the positive feedback on the points you mentioned. Regarding our rates for next year - we will announce this before the year end. On the customer service front - we generally get very high satisfaction scores but there's always room to improve. If you have specific issues please PM us so we can address them.
> ...


 
Hi Rabodirect,

I'm sorry but I saw you advertising your product even in posts where we were talking about other banks so I keep my opinion... And re your comment "If you have specific issues please PM us so we can address them" no need to worry: I complained a couple of times and I got the typical message "thank you for your input for improvement"... If there will be a 3rd time you'll hear from me I promise...

Question pls: did you see that in the last issue of "You and your money" apparently standard&poors gave rabodirect an "A-"? A bit far from the "AAA"... Can you explain please?


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## RaboDirect (10 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*



Godfather said:


> Hi Rabodirect,
> 
> Question pls: did you see that in the last issue of "You and your money" apparently standard&poors gave rabodirect an "A-"? A bit far from the "AAA"... Can you explain please?


 
We are aware of the article in "You & Your Money" magazine. They will be printing an apology and clarification in their January issue. Rabobank has maintained its AAA rating for more than 25 years. [broken link removed]

RaboDirect


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## Godfather (10 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*

Thanks a lot Rabo,

nice to hear good news!


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## ClubMan (10 Dec 2007)

*Re: Raobdirect, easy to manage money?*



colc1 said:


> Next question then: are there charges on the current a/c because I am seriously considering opening the savings a/c myself and this could be a deal breaker?


You already asked this question and got an answer ("no") earlier in this thread!


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