OS-Independent Web Banking?

kalaleq asks: "My bank, Toronto Dominion, recently updated their Web banking application. It was already dependent on Netscape or Internet Explorer, I believe, but now it is dependent on later versions of the same...and limited to the Windows and Mac platforms. Theoretically the site should work on Netscape for UNIX, but seemingly due to some minor JavaScript incompatibility, critical functions no longer work on that setup. I wrote TD early in the year asking if they could fix this apparently minor problem. I received the reply that they did not support Linux, but were looking into it as they recognised that Linux's popularity is growing. It is now almost a year later, nothing has been done." Any bank that is willing to lose customers over a "minor JavaScript incompativility" is a bank that is not worthy to hold my money and I would recommend that people consider this small fact. Would some of you care to recommend a replacement bank with a decent (OS-independent) online presence?"

"I recently wrote again, and received no response at all, even though I mentioned that I would be writing an editorial for Slashdot, whether I could report a happy ending or not. That happy ending seems to be out of reach now. I even offered to contract to fix the problem myself.

The big question is, is there any bank with a good Web banking component that geeks can rely upon for good cross-platform support? TD's site is not only incompatible, but it relies on all sorts of client-side JavaScript to do things that could 99% of the time be just as easily done on the server side in PHP, CGI, ASP (which they are using now - another questionable decision), etc. Ideally I want to be able to log in from a text console using lynx and do my banking... and it seems to me with a little planning there's no reason I shouldn't be able to do so.

Another, broader question that comes to mind is this: Who makes the technology decisions at the big banks? These companies influence our daily lives to an astonishing degree, since they control our financial lives. When my bank decides to change their Web site to make it incompatible with my platform of choice, it really leaves me floundering. Who is responsible? What consulting firm is recommending these unfriendly, unnecessarily glitzy, and altogether unsound choices? If they're unaware of the needs of their less-than-mainstream customers - betraying a certain lack of thoroughness - can we really trust their security decisions?

Practically speaking, I'd like advice on a new, geek-friendly bank, if indeed such a thing exists. Preferably somewhere I can do my banking in a text-mode browser, but at least somewhere committed to supporting the most common graphical browsers on *all* platforms. For myself, the other requirement is that the bank be Canadian, though I think discussion of banks in other countries would be very interesting as well. The good thing about TD is that they have a no-fee minimum account level, which is convenient; a geek-friendly bank with a good service plan to boot would be ideal.

To be fair to my bank, I've been reasonably happy up until now. However, my inability to get any satisfaction on this matter has forced me to consider a move, if a better alternative exists."

Comments

Re:Why?

[sjames]

If you don't want to use an operating system that the bank's -- or ecommerce etc -- system supports, that is your perogative. However, you can't expect them all to support every operating system there is. That simply isn't possible.

Actually, in the case of a web app, it IS possable to support any operating system that has a browser with SSL capabilities. All that's required is keeping the display reletivly simple and functional. I don't know of any browser that can't handle a form with the POST method. That's all that's really required.

Simple pages like that also place less load on the server. If the banks insist on a bunch of eye candy, perhaps they should start with a simple form like that as a functional prototype and keep it available for those who aren't using exactly the same version of browser as the web developer.

Interestingly, simple forms like that are also more accessible for the visually impared and more adaptable to WAP and PalmVII. Another OS in a partition won't help a blind person use a clueless web banking app that only likes the standard (non text to speech) version of their browser.

I can answer to this (I'm a TD customer too)

[Geek Boy]

I ran into this as well. They supported Linux for a very long time and then they decided to make some updates to the page to make it non-Linux compatible. It was REALLY stupid and I even called them and told them how to fix the page to make it work with Linux again, but they would hear nothing of it. I actually posted a comment to slashdot about this a couple of months ago in a story that had some remote links to this topic. I told TD support that I would post information all over the web about their treatment of people who didn't want to use Windows or MacOS. They actually told me to go out and buy Windows if I wanted to use their site!! I was really pissed off and managed to speak to the manager, who told me that they were developing a better site. She gave me access to this beta site, which actually does work, and I can verify that they now do support Linux. I guess enough people called to complain. They were ->- that close to losing me as a customer after 21 years, and with me, losing some serious commercial business too. Be patient. Within a month or two (hopefully), it will work again. The new site is much faster and more full-featured too.

I know it's frustrating, but they know what it's all about now.

Geeks in banking apps

[Penrif]

As someone who has been there, I can say pretty safely that the folks coding up those web banking sites don't like to deviate from Microsoft too much, and it's for an interesting reason: the product sells better to non-tech types when you can say it's a Microsoft tech. Floored me when I first heard that, but I suppose some people haven't figured out that Microsoft != secure. As far as they're concerned, Microsoft products (ASP, IIS, etc) make for a quick rollout that has good security and customers are comfortable with. I'd say two of those are right...

Citibank

[friedo]

I have found that Citibank web banking works excellently with Netscape on Linux, Netscape and IE on Mac, and Netscape and IE on Windows.