Biometric Security Farce with Nat West

[awemawson]

Today I wanted to transfer £1 to a chap who I may be buying some equipment from next week so that we could both verify correct account details before the 'real' transaction.

Nat West iPhone app made me set up bio-security - never happened before - but I went along with it, it scanned my face OK. Then trying the £1 payment it of course wanted to verify my face. OK face up on the screen, tells me to blink. Can't see me blink. MANY attempts - many failures.

On chat help line for absolute ages - eventually get a semi-human response telling me how to remove bio-security. To do this it has to see my face AND see me blink, which of course it cannot. Chicken and egg situation here I think!

What an absolute farce - I'll probably have to sit on a phone line for ages on Monday to resolve this, meanwhile I'm sure that the confidence of the seller in me has plummeted !

 

[mike os]

Set up facial recognition in the phone beforehand...

 

[voipio]

A bit like using PayPal's two factor authentication where there's no mobile phone signal.

 

[MattF]

A bit like using PayPal's two factor authentication where there's no mobile phone signal.

Reminds me of WhatsApp's extra authentication, for if you decide to change phone numbers. Throws a wobbler on a dual sim phone.

 

[Robotstar5]

Can you uninstall the app then re-install, but skip the bio bit when setting up.

 

[Kayos]

Ive used the natwest app since I was using a Blackberry

Only bio i use is fingerprint, my phone can so face but I don't bother

Made and received transfers totalling hundreds of thousands on my business account without issue

 

[awemawson]

Yes me too, and I've had no problems except when my fingers are too cut about working on machines. I didn't want face recognition, but it rather forced me down that route.

. . .extensive phone calls to them tomorrow I think, meanwhile I'm having a calming brandy to let my blood cool down

 

[cheb]

I'm avoiding biometrics as long as is possible, I can change passwords but I'm stuck with my fingerprints and my face.

 

[SierraV6]

What’s wrong with a bag full of cash?

 

[bricol]

Today I wanted to transfer £1 to a chap who I may be buying some equipment from next week so that we could both verify correct account details before the 'real' transaction.

Nat West iPhone app made me set up bio-security - never happened before - but I went along with it, it scanned my face OK. Then trying the £1 payment it of course wanted to verify my face. OK face up on the screen, tells me to blink. Can't see me blink. MANY attempts - many failures.

On chat help line for absolute ages - eventually get a semi-human response telling me how to remove bio-security. To do this it has to see my face AND see me blink, which of course it cannot. Chicken and egg situation here I think!

What an absolute farce - I'll probably have to sit on a phone line for ages on Monday to resolve this, meanwhile I'm sure that the confidence of the seller in me has plummeted !

Check transaction limits too - I did exactly what you did, sent the quid to check it all worked. A week later, sat in the sellers living room, pressing "ok" on transfer of several grand in exchange for an Alfa 159 . . . he's not seeing it appear. I'm not seeing an error.

Took phone call to NatWest to discover it was over some limit where they wanted to check . . .

 

[awemawson]

Well it goes from bad to worse

Spent a long time on the Nat West landline telephone help desk - escalated one tier to a supervisor - all trying to be helpful but cannot do anything for ten days. Eventually he decided that as I had had a business account a few years back that was now closed my 'profile' was wrong and he'd re-set it. This resulted in a new i/d number but still didn't take off the bio-metrics.

(Staff staff tried to help but the system was stopping them)

Now I can't even log onto the ap on the phone - it won't take the details as correct although they are as I can do it on the phone to a human and on my pc with natwest.com !!!!!!!

At the moment waiting for a manager to call back 'within the hour'

When I mentioned that I'd spent literally hours on the phone at 9p a minute on their 0345 number I was given an 0800-051-4176 free phone number for 'over 60's' - they didn't laugh when i referred to it as the 'old farts' number

 

[awemawson]

Well the call never came SO: I've transferred all my money into a Barclays Account who's app does work !!!!

 

[voipio]

This is just plain wrong, and seems to be becoming endemic in the banking system "in order to reduce fraud". Time to make a "racket"/nuisance of yourself. Contact your MP, NatWest CEO, anyone you can think of.

 

[badabec]

Much the same with NatWest with me. Charged me £5 a month for two payments in and two payments out plus various other troubles. The other name on the account had gone missing in 2013, after a lot of aggro and money I finally had a court order removing him from the account. Nat West still wouldn't remove his name without his signature.
Opened an account with Starling, I now get interest on my balance, only 60p a month but better than minus £5 every month.
Barclays app, just tried to pay a hospital bill, no good, can't transfer more than £2000. Had to do it on the PC, worked fine.

 

[gaz1]

What’s wrong with a bag full of cash?

its no longer exceptable as non traceable

so no longer excepted for getting lower prices on goods

unless you use credit card then you get the reductions otherwise you dont

This is just plain wrong, and seems to be becoming endemic in the banking system "in order to reduce fraud". Time to make a "racket"/nuisance of yourself. Contact your MP, NatWest CEO, anyone you can think of.

a system designed for debt by the user if they arnt careful

you only get reductions or better rates if your willing to use a direct debit system cash is no longer the reduction system

power utilites prefer this method and love to withdraw early had this row often

yes its trackable within reason

funny how it never works with big companys and offshore accounts that alot of mps use

makes fraud easier

 

[cheb]

It also costs the banks money and time to handle physical cash, and other businesses too. Then there's the security aspect, when did you last hear of an armed robbery of a companies payroll?

Cashless also stops employees robbing the till. It's the self employed trades I feel sorry for, all that income having to be declarable.

 

[awemawson]

When I had my Launderettes, many a time I was queuing up to pay in bags of counted 20p & £1 coins and they would call me forwards as they urgently needed the coin for other customers. Didn't stop them charging me for paying in coins !

 

[slim_boy_fat]

What’s wrong with a bag full of cash?

Anti money-laundering legislation.

 

[gaz1]

Anti money-laundering legislation.

thats a laugh in its own right

you and i know better than that

 

[My Old Landy]

Anti money-laundering legislation.

You can no longer buy a house without proving where the money came from. I have just experienced this so it is first hand knowledge