NEWS 05.03.04: UK online banking websites are failing to meet customers' needs according to a survey by Jyra Research, with Citibank and NatWest providing the poorest response rates.
The study claims nearly 50 per cent of attempts to access Citibank's site failed. While NatWest had a 34 per cent failure rate and the longest response time. The best responses were found on the First Direct and Lloyds bank websites.
Using its own web tracking technology, Jyra looked at the Lloyds, NatWest, First Direct, Midland and Citibank sites. Some of the sites offer internet banking while others have a link to the PC banking facilities. Paul Robinson, CEO of Jyra Research, said: "Among the main UK banking providers there's a massive variation in [website] performance."
05.03.04:The problem banks face with their internet banking strategies is that everybody expects them to be infallible and everybody is watching, waiting to pick on it if they do.
Banks look after our money and hold our lives in their hands - or rather their vaults and systems - more than any almost any other group, sector or organisation within society.
The latest problem to face banks is battling against the 'phishing' scams which would rob customers of personal information and ultimately money. Banks must ensure customers are educated about such threats - and most do a good job of doing so.
However, over the years there have also been cases of major banks in the US and the UK being named and shamed for varying degrees of online blunder.
