Has Personal Online "Banking" Ever Been Surveyed ?

G

GreatDane

Registered User
Messages
681
Hi

Just wondering if anyone has ever conducted a survey of the various institutions, to see how their various personal online banking services compare ?

I've had some experience with AIB, EBS & more recently, RaboDirect to date & am planning a go on Ulster Bank next.

To date, I gotta say I find AIB & RaboDirect better than EBS, taking account of features, ease of use etc. AIB probably win the category for more services, although RaboDirect impresses as better technically (I guess, because its the latest to enter the market & probably has the most up to date technology etc). All 3 have proven reliable during the period I've been testing them.

Interesting to note that RaboDirect pay 3% gross on savings accounts, AIB are now offering something similiar online, but our friends in the EBS are only paying 0.05% (source: EBS online - when logged in, just do a little routing about & you'll find it). I'd have thought in an effort to encourage online use & shorten queues, the rates would be higher at the EBS also

Im of the view that of the above 3 insitutions, they need to attend to the following:

AIB
Keep doing what your doing (eh, although maybe cut some charges )

RaboDirect
Commence offering more services & perhaps lengthen your automatic log out time a bit

EBS
Offer more services online & perhaps, consider an internet based savings account with a better rate of interest


Anyone got a comment on some of the other institutions, how they find them etc ?

Cheers

G>
http://www.rpoints.com/newbie
 
EBS are also paying 2.75% to members only on certain deposits. See [broken link removed].
 
Hi Clubman,

Thanks for that link,

I knew about it but felt it was not really internet based, or anywhere near as flexible as the others, if anything, I fear its getting far more into the mainstream conversation of deposits:



Anyway, sorry, I guess Im probably taking this thread further off topic & should infact be trying to keep it on the original subject matter

Cheers

G>
http://www.rpoints.com/newbie
 
But isn't any mention of EBS irrelevant given that (as far as I know) they don't offer any online banking services (ignoring their <<Your Account Online>> facility to track Summit Fund investments and SSIAs)?
 
For what it's worth, I've used AIB, BoI and Ulster Bank internet banking. It's been a while since I used BoI, because I closed my account over four years ago.

AIB is fine, other than for the fact that you have to call them to get third party accounts etc. set up. Not a big deal really. I think BoI was the same.

We set up a U First account when we got our mortgage with Ulster Bank. I like the way that you can add third party accounts etc. without having to speak to customer services, and you can also schedule payments in advance, neither of which are possible on BoI/AIB???

The bad (or good?) thing about Ulster Bank, is that it is hard to use online banking on two different PCs, without getting a new 'shared secret' (don't ask). It is possible to copy the relevant security certificate onto another PC, but I have not been able to do this successfully.
 
ClubMan said:
But isn't any mention of EBS irrelevant given that (as far as I know) they don't offer any online banking services (ignoring their <<Your Account Online>> facility to track Summit Fund investments and SSIAs)?
Click to expand...
The 'your account online' does more than this. It allows you to see balances & transaction history on cash accounts and to transfer funds if you have more than 1 EBS account. I have a vague memory of some bill-pay type service too, but I can't be sure on this bit.

I've found NIB's online service to be excellent. No need to phone the call centre to add new payee's - you can pay to any account once you provide a sort code, account number & reference. You can set up recurring payments, so you can effectively manage your own standing orders.
 
Have been complaining to AIB for a few months now as to why you can't use their online service to send eur payments abroad without having to ring them up - they are still promising that this will be implemented "soon"
 
Garrettod said:
Im of the view that of the above 3 insitutions, they need to attend to the following:

AIB
Keep doing what your doing (eh, although maybe cut some charges )
Click to expand...

I wrote to AIB and told them I was going to move to a bank with no fees/charges and would be moving my mortgage, current accounts, visa etc if they could't offer the same. Within a couple of days they aggreed to scrap all fees/charges on all my accounts for 18 months. Hoping that it might be more long term, but if they re-introduce them after the 18 months I'll move then.
 
I've never managed to get it to do anything other than show my Summit Funds and SSIA (also Summit Funds) balances.
 
Ulsterbank online banking would get a rating of probably 8/10 for my banking needs and to allow me to track/download transactions. I like that you can download past few months worth of transactions in different formats.
Theres a bit of a mess about if you want to access from different PCs but on the whole OK.

Only recently since opening a Northern Rock online account would I have a real annoyance with Ulsterbank online and therefore would give them 7/10

Ulsterbank are unable to setup an online transaction to NR online account because they do not allow for sending a reference (your NR a/c number) along with the main NR account number. (I believe other banks online cater for this)

Therfore if I want to deposit money from Ulsterbank to NR I have to write and send a cheque. Cannot do it on line with Ulsterbank.

This is what UB say on the subject :

There are a lot of changes being made to our service over the next year. One of these changes is that you will be able to attach a reference number to transfers. We do not have an exact date when this will be in place, bbut we will be keeping customers informed through our website. If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.


 
I'd second RainyDay's comments about NIB having better 'functionality' than, say, BoI. I've had two BoI-issued credit cards — MasterCard and Amex Blue — for years, but I still can't view transactions on the Amex a/c (other than in the monthly paper statements) or have it paid automatically by DD from my deposit a/c. And I've to ring Dublin if I want to know my balance, between statements...
 
Have an online account with AIB, one major problem I find is that you cannot download transaction detail into Microsoft Money or Excel, contacted them about this, "there has not been sufficient demand from customres for this feature" is this possible or do they just not want customers to analyse their spending ?
 
ClubMan said:
I've never managed to get it to do anything other than show my Summit Funds and SSIA (also Summit Funds) balances.
Click to expand...
From [broken link removed]

Avail of the benefits such as :

Balance enquiries
Online statements and transaction search
Transfer funds between your EBS accounts
Pay your household and credit card bills
Print interest certificates for savings accounts
Click to expand...
 
My biggest issue with Ulster Bank is that you cannot view Credit Card transactions and balances online.
 
RainyDay said:
From [broken link removed]
Click to expand...
Thanks - I have never been able to view transaction details on my general and SSIA Summit Fund investments. I think I queried this with them before but can't remember the outcome. I'll chase it up with them again when I get a chance.
 
What is the prime objective of a bank - to help their customers analyse their spending and perhaps save a bit of money, or to maximise profits and so return value to shareholders?

I got the same bla-bla from BoI when I asked about accessing my Amex credit card a/c. They told me it would be available 'in the near future' ...two years ago.

I know I'm not comparing like with like, but even BT Ireland lets you download your 'phone bill in Excel-compatible format. Mind you, since they seem to consistently c*ck up every other aspect of their billing services, we probably shouldn't complain about the online offerings of BoI/AIB et al...
 
Just recalled one annoying limitation of NIB's online system - when viewing or exporting credit card transactions, you can only view/export up to 10 transactions at any one time. Seems strange, particularly when there is no such limit with other (non-CC) accounts.
 
I select-copy-paste into a blank Word document (which automatically generates a table), then open a blank Excel spreadsheet, then select the appropriate number of columns/rows and hit 'paste' again. A bit laborious, I know... I only do it when I've a special reason to.
 
ClubMan said:
But isn't any mention of EBS irrelevant given that (as far as I know) they don't offer any online banking services (ignoring their <<Your Account Online>> facility to track Summit Fund investments and SSIAs)?
Click to expand...

Hi

Quite limited, Yes. However:

[broken link removed] - "Personal Banking" page

Your Account Online
Whether you're at work, at home or anywhere in the world you can effectively manage your time and keep track of your financial affairs by accessing your EBS accounts online around the clock.
Click to expand...

I think you can now apply for the GE / EBS personal loan online, possibly also apply for their MBNA/EBS Visa Card Online, Access your savings accounts online, check how your SSIA & Summit Funds are doing online. You can do limited interbank transferse (subject to telemandates), or pay some bills etc.

Cheers

G>
 
Hi

Any word on Permanent TSB ? ... just wondering how their "free banking" stands up to this test, in comparison to what appears to be some fairly good feedback for NIB ? (I take it, this is available from Freebank btw ?)

Cheers

G>
http://www.rpoints.com/newbie
 
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