I love online banking. Between online bill pay, statements that are constantly updated, the lack of junk mail and live chatting whenever I need it, it’s very close to the perfect service provider solution.
Unless I want to open a new account.
I needed to open a new checking account and decided to do so online. I live in New York but still use Colorado for my permanent address. When I set up the account I specified Colorado as the state I’d like to bank in. After completing the application you’re told to wait five days, which I did. You’re then told to print out a bunch of paperwork, sign it and mail it away. You’re then told to wait some more.
You’re then told that the bank mysteriously set up your account in Florida, via a middleman in North Carolina. You’re told that they don’t really know why this happened, but as a result, they’ll need to change your application to Colorado. Then they tell you to wait for approval.
Then they tell you to print out the same forms again, sign them and mail them to a new office in the state in which you’re banking. Then you’re told to wait.
You then discover you’ve been approved – not by receiving an approval, but by receiving two emails. One tells you how to order checks (you just have to call with your account number that you don’t know,) and the other tells you how convenient your online banking will be (you just need your account number that you don’t know and you pin that you haven’t selected.)
You then try online chat, but in order to have a conversation you need to know your account number and, you guessed it, your online pin – a second pin number that you also haven’t selected.
Online banking is a beautiful thing, but online account creation leaves a lot to be desired.
