No this isn’t a rant about the bad usability and user experience of online banking. Or the generally poor design. Or even the stagnating development cycles, the 1999 interfaces, the lack of accessibility or the flagrant disregard for standard-based, best-practice coding.
No, I’m wondering why, in 2010, none of the following features are available on my online banking service:
- Drill down the data. Find out all my monthly outgoings by a particular vendor (e.g. Sainsbury’s) – how much do I spend at the super market)
- Allow me to assign codes and categories to types of purchase (food, clothes, travel) and query the data that way
- Get a forecast for my next month’s spend
- Display graphs on where my money is going. What % of my income is being spent at the Alma Tavern??
- Send me custom reports about my spending habits — and tips on how to make adjustments
- An export feature to tie in with my own off-line accounting
- an iPhone app to check statements on the move
- Probably loads of other stuff – ranging from the frivolous to the crucially useful
That’s with First Direct but I’ve also used NatWest and LloydsTSB in the not-too-distant and I’m pretty sure they don’t have anything like those features either.
Anyone bank with someone who does offer this and/or know of a third party extension that offers them?
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January 31st, 2010 at 10:20 pm
You’re so right. Lloyds online banking really is so frustrating – searching statements is torture as the most you can do is search up to 3 months’ statments at at time by keyword, and you certainly can’t drill down or export the data. I guess they’re so focused on dealing with security issues that adding value is too far down the agenda.