Online Banking
Ankush Samant
We all have multiple accounts; this has led to the conclusion that most urban people have at least one bank account. Every bank account has an online channel to check bank statements, transfer funds, pay bills etc.
These facilities are of great convenience. With the introduction of mobile banking by some banks, the convenience shall get better! As I open the Login page for each of bank account, actually the real nightmare starts here. First, I have to scrap my memory to find out my Username and obviously, then the password. Second problem is solved by keeping the same password for many accounts. Other people solve the password remembering problem by keeping its note at some place.
But, the real problem that still exists is that of the Username. Refer the attached image of banks Login page screen-shots to understand the problem. Also, think what would have been life, if I would have said "Google.com" will be renamed "172.225.456.656" which might be its actual internet protocol. The actual IP address has been given a unique human-friendly name (google.com) due to some reasons, and banks are yet to realize that!
Why do I see this as a really bad design?
- Username is decided by the bank and not by the customer. Unlike a mobile number, which is also a number, a username is decided by someone else; hence it is always difficult to remember. We are comfortable when we chose our own usernames like our own mobile numbers.
- They don't have a standard pattern. Again take example of mobile numbers. We remember some mobile numbers since they are in some patterns (e.g. 9891...., 95351...., 90000....) So, our mind gets strained in recalling the Usernames which are pretty different from bank to bank.
- Everyone is aware of other unique attributes that could have been used for Usernames like e-mail ids. Still, banks shy away from using such attributes due to reasons unknown.
- One does not carry notebooks, diaries, laptops everywhere. It is the memory that one carries along to different places. So, consider a scenario when one loses track of the number Username. What will that person tell a bank tele-center? I haven't seen a customer service that serves without a number!
It is high time Banks identify this bad design of a username. Currently, it only demonstrates apathy towards customers, who are still just humans!
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