John_W
Premium
join:2000-04-25
Worcester, MA
clubs: 
 ·Vonage
| [Rant] Bank of America Online Banking
What is up with Bank of America's sitekey logon.
I go to do some banking online, I am asked to enter my bank card number. Then enter my Banking PIN. Then enter the state I am from. I click enter. I am then asked to enter the year I graduated high school from and click enter.
Then I am asked to enter my banking PIN again. Other than being a huge nuisance for the user, how does entering all that protect me. Entering my PIN twice? I don't know. Makes no sense to me.
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Free Hat!! |
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removed
Crisis Management Squad
Premium,VIP
join:2002-02-08
Houston, TX
clubs:
| BoA has gotten worse and worse and worse over the years. I closed my accounts there back in December and am now with a credit union - the difference is spectacular! (in a good way, that is)
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AIM | B | irc.removed.us - #dslr | Give me a ring: 718-606-4100 |
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John_W
Premium
join:2000-04-25
Worcester, MA
clubs:
·Vonage
| I gotta agree with you. I was a Fleet customer in New England when BOA bought them. The conversion from Fleet to BOA was complete last April. Since then I have to contact BOA monthly and sometimes twice a month for them to correct errors that they have made. Usually revolving around their Billpay service. Bills not being sent even though the funds have been deducted from my account. $34 Bounced check fees even though there is ample funds to cover the check.
Insane. I swear they hit people with fees and hope they don't notice.
And now they have started with all their new fees this month. $20 fee for having 4 or more transactions in your savings account.
I really don't think they want to keep customers. I liked Fleet so much better.
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Free Hat!! |
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nightdesigns
Gone missing, back soon
Premium
join:2002-05-31
AZ
 ·Cox HSI
| reply to removed
said by removed  :BoA has gotten worse and worse and worse over the years. I closed my accounts there back in December and am now with a credit union - the difference is spectacular! (in a good way, that is) I did the same back in June and have been in love with my CU every since.
Recenely BofA acquired my Credit Card Company, MBNA. I'm worried now ...
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The _REAL_ OC: Cookie-cutter soccer moms driving their SUVs through the McDonalds drive-through, blowing away their child's college education on their $600/month car payment, $4500/month mortgage payment, and their plastic surgery/boob job/botox bill. |
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harryhoudini
join:2003-02-05
Los Angeles, CA
3 edits | reply to John_W
Wow, nobody really answered the dude’s question. I will also chime in though on joining a credit union. I worked for BofA when I got in to banking. I am now employed by a credit union and can tell you it is a huge difference. Just think non-profit versus profit for stockholders attitude.
The site key is actually a second form of authentication. This will be a requirement for all financial institutions by the end of the year. Single Sign On Authentication is not secure enough. The site key is meant to protect you from "phising scams" and unauthorized access. The idea being that only the legit Bank of America site will display your site key when it recognized your PC and thus letting you know it is safe to enter your account number and password. If your PC is not recognized, you will be asked to answer the security question you selected.
By the way, this is explained when you signup and select your site key.
»www.bankofamerica.com/privacy/passmark/
As much as I hate BofA, they are not doing this to annoy you. They are doing it to protect your account information. |
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AJ023
join:2001-12-25
Forest Hills, NY
| Bank Of America's billpay is the best so I stick with BoA.
There is one credit union and I would love to switch BUT its located far from me and the offering isnt so great.
The community bank seems to have the same bill pay interface, and a similar offering for the checking accounts with the same interest rates, etc... but the online interface still seems a little inferior even though ORCC (Online Resources) is the best of breed of all the interfaces with the exception of Checkfree. I still havent decided so I keep sticking it out with BoA.
I wish there was an open internet based credit union with low overheads with open membership that had local ATM deposit. But alas that wont happen.
Seems like internet banks have better deals than the credit unions cause of lower cost structures.
My local credit union for instance pays 5 million dollar salary expense which comes to 100k per employee almost if the salaries are all split evenly. After looking at the financials, I realize why all the offerings are lousy. That is really the only credit union that is open membership around me. If you are lucky to have a well run credit union with superior offerings then a credit union could be the way to go.
Just because its a credit union does not on the surface make it better. A bank can be better than a credit union and vica versa although typically the credit union on an overall basis tends to be better. |
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Fobulous
Premium
join:2002-08-14
Missouri City, TX
clubs:
·Comcast
| reply to John_W
Come on guys, stop bashing BOA. I don't see how a bank can give you so much grief. Sitekey is a second layer of security authentication, i think it's a great idea especially during todays ID's thefts and banking hacks.
I have been with BOA for almost 2 years and i absolutely love their online bill payment system. While it's got it's flaws, it definitely is alot more stable than Wellsfargos ( i close my account with wellsfargo due to some online payment issues) One good thing about Wellsfargos is that it updates the balances in real time where BOA only updates daily.
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Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.-Abraham Lincoln |
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harryhoudini
join:2003-02-05
Los Angeles, CA
| reply to AJ023
I can honestly tell you that BofA’s online banking and bill payment is not the best. I worked for BofA, Wells Fargo, City National Bank, California Credit Union and my current employer. BofA has been lagging big time with regards to technology. They just started getting up to speed two years ago. For a while there, BofA phone system was more up to date and worked in real time then their website.
My credit union has been offering online printable statements, pending transactions view, BillPayer, transfers to other members or institutions since 2001. We also don’t outsource our bill payment processing like others do. |
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AJ023
join:2001-12-25
Forest Hills, NY
2 edits | harryhoudini: What interface does the credit union use?
There are only a small handful. The best of the interfaces that the smaller banks and credit unions use is by Online Resources Corp. (ORCC) The best interface overall is checkfree and Bank Of America uses a custom version which is superior to the stock checkfree interface. I dont know when you worked with Bank Of America as I have been with Fleet Homelink then was transistioned to the Bank Of America interface. But the fact is the BoA product is best of breed as far as online interfaces go.
Bank Of America only took over Fleet recently and moved me to the new system so you havent seen that new system which IS Superior. I do NOT know about the previous nationsbank and bank of america systems only the present ones.
I am comparing systems as of today, not 2 years ago.
The top of the line are Bank Of America's variant of checkfree, the next up is checkfree's stock interface, then comes Online Resources, then you have other companies which pale in comparison like s1 for instance.
So tell me which system your credit union uses, and then we can compare for ourselves with the available demos. |
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GilbertMark
Premium
join:2001-05-02
Gilbert, AZ
·Cox HSI
1 edit | reply to John_W
Anything financial seems to have three login like things associated with it. BofA is that way, a credit union of mine has three seperate numbers and ING is that way too. Somehow having one more password like number to enter makes you more secure. I absolutely love their online bill pay. I don't write checks for anything anymore. |
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harryhoudini
join:2003-02-05
Los Angeles, CA
2 edits | reply to AJ023
How can you say they are the best when you have a limited point of reference? I still have accounts with all four financial insititoins so that I can keep an eye out.
We developed our own interface. We also sell it packed to other credit unions.
By the way, I deal with issues on a daily basis correcting Bill Payment issues caused by BofA. |
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AJ023
join:2001-12-25
Forest Hills, NY
4 edits | I have used Fleet and BoA billpayment with literally thousands of payments and not a single one has ever been problematic. This has been ongoing now for years. My payment history is loaded to the gills. Every single payment has arrived ontime and EXACTLY when the system said it would send since they had the delivery date feature for those transactions.
During that time I did try out different other banks when I moved and the like because BoA did not have a branch on this side close to me and that is when I had major issues. At that time, the Online Resources interface which probably would have been decent now, was in its infancy and so I didnt really look to use one of those banks with it back then.
I had used other interfaces before, and DID have issues all over the place from A to Z but fortunately I got those companies to waive the late fees.
As for the credit union, do you have a link of the interface from one of those credit unions you sold the interface to?
The best credit union interface used other than CheckFree which is more widely adapted as very few CU's can/will pony up the fees, has been the one by Online Resources which is affiliated with co-op network. The other ones on the market do not have the same capabilities although are decent in certain areas. If you have found this so called superior interface and is an interface that is not known to industry insiders, please post a link of a credit union that has such. I am still waiting. Talk doesnt say much to me. Show us that top draw interface you claim is there.
Navy Federal, the largest CU in the country actually PAYS for CheckFree. That one is on par with the best of the banks because the best interfaces are checkfree based. The reason why most CU's dont use checkfree is because it does NOT come cheap.
I know alot about this because I have been following the stocks for online interfaces and have been following this market extensively and also where companies are moving over to.
Let us pass the judgement ourselves.
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harryhoudini
join:2003-02-05
Los Angeles, CA
3 edits | reply to John_W
The interface we use or sell is propiatery so it will never whow up on the stock market. Also, remember we are non profit organziations.
I am not going to direct you to my credit union or any of the ones we provide services for. I find myself getting in to argurments here on this board alot and there are some people that are irrational. I would hate to set the wrong person off and have them go the extra mile to figure out who I am an what I do.
Anyways, for now lets say that you are right and I am wrong. I bow down.
Credit unions are no threat to banks. They have no reason to fear us. |
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AJ023
join:2001-12-25
Forest Hills, NY
| On the credit union vs bank argument, I never made the argument about banks being a threat to credit unions. The 2 business models are completely different. Credit unions have lower taxes and serve more localized areas and/or distinct membership groups. You need to shop between both to find the best deal. For some people a credit union is better and for others a bank. Each person has different needs and wants.
There are internet banks which have lower cost structures and better rates than credit unions. My local credit union has excellent mortgage rates for example which out of all the local places to get a mortgage from would come to the cheapest. However if I got a mortgage from an online bank which I have used extensively in the past and who honored all committments to me and whom I trust, the rate would be even less.
That has to do with the cost structure as there are banks that offer better deals to consumers than banks and vica versa.
As far as payment processing times being reduced, Bank Of America for instance is now 2 days delivery time for online payments, and 1 day if you have a Bank Of America account and bank of america credit card for instance. Bank Of America's outbound is among the best. As for inbound deposits and fees that can be another story and you have to always be on the lookout for those.
Bank Of America actually owns a large stake in CheckFree so it cant really be considered outsourcing in the traditional sense and Im not familiar in how the processing works, but I have seen the results and for me this has been an outstanding 100% reliability since I first had signed up for Fleet Homelink many many years ago.
With one bank of which I will not name, I sent in probably around maybe 30 billpayments, they lost 1 completely from the system. So if I lost one out of every 30 or even every 50, that would NOT have been very good at all.
Listen, I am a fervent believer in non profits and open source and the like for software, and do I always believe the best comes from firms on the stock market? Not at all. |
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John_W
Premium
join:2000-04-25
Worcester, MA
clubs:
·Vonage
| You are lucky with that bill pay record or only losing one. I've had a few lost in the past 6 months. BoA does stop and resend at no cost, so I do give them credit. they also refund me any late payments as well. I also like that I can get my bills delivered directly to my bill pay account. Very convient.
One thng I really hate about BoA's billpay. My paycheck usually gets deposited on midnight thursday night. On shortened weeks from a holiday it goes in 12 hours late. If I forget to delay a scheduled payment one day and BoA processes it and there is not enough money to cover the amount, BoA hits you with a $34 fee. Why the fee? There is no human interaction here. There is no returned check for insuffueient funds that requires any communication between banks or people. The computer notes there is not enough money and does nothing. It costs BoA nothing. If I wrote a paper check and it bounced, I could see the fee, but penalizing you to that extent for something that costs BoA nothing, is a bit much.
When Fleet owned it, they never did that. They would just send it out the next day and not charge you a fee. So clearly BoA is generating revenue streams from any source they can.
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Fobulous
Premium
join:2002-08-14
Missouri City, TX
clubs:
·Comcast
| That fee sucked but that's why i always keep enough to cover up something like this. I never never leave the barebone minimum in my checking account, cus you never know what's going to happen. Also, i always try to schedule my bill payment 5-10 days from direct deposits, if you rely on every direct deposit to pay your bills, you really need to save more IMO.
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Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.-Abraham Lincoln |
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Hoss
Sauters A Walrus
join:2000-10-05
Tulsa, OK
| reply to John_W
I've been with BofA since they acquired my previous bank which acquired my previous bank..you get the picture. I've been with this bank since 2/94.
Since I've been using Online Access Checking (no service fee if you have one ACH deposit per month, I have two) I have not had one single problem with the service. I've been using their billpay for about two years now without incident.
Does that mean they're perfect. No. But what bank is? I've had the little ones screw up my account just as bad as the big ones. |
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