Today on the radio I heard a bank employee wax lyrical about old-school banking and how he had thoroughly enjoyed it.
Many listeners rang in to voice their memories too. It sent me on a nostalgia trip, but also a trip of annoyance and contradictions.
I remembered the first bank book that I had, a hard-cover affair, filled with pages and columns and entries written in by hand and stamped on the edge of the page. So simple.
There was the filling in of the deposit slip with your name and account details and sometimes, heaven forbid, a withdrawal slip, though that was discouraged. Saving was the point of the exercise.
Plastic colourful piggy banks followed next, and even the offer of quite good interest rates on child savings account. The bank came to us in primary school with money boxes made of cheap tin, made to look like the outside of a very conservative bank from the olden days. Which bank you ask?
Banking for life
Our schools became places where we took our meagre offerings and they duly deposited them in the local bank. Ah, those were the days. Such service, though it was a way to indoctrinate us to a particular bank for life.
Then came credit cards, which I embraced with gusto, getting one as a uni student despite having little income. The trick was to pay the balance off every month without incurring interest charges, and I can proudly boast to have only paid a charge once. I am, therefore, not the type of customer banks really want on their books. Too stingy for words.
As the years rolled by, and as all of our pay went straight into the new digital world of banking, I happily segued to online banking. It was convenient, my computer interface was easy to use and it became effortless to pay bills over the net and transfer money as I needed.
Honeymoon is over
But now my love affair with banks has taken a turn for the worse. Now my online bank is planning to go completely to an app. On my phone. No more tapping away on the big computer screen. Horror!
The news was sent to me in a text full of glowing words, such as “we listened to what our customers wanted!” and “we’re excited to take you on this journey and bring improvements to your banking experience with us!” It was vomit material in its sugar-coated language, not tricking this old customer for a nanosecond. It is all driven by money, which is, of course, ironic as I write this piece.
I don’t want to go on a new journey. Why am I so distressed? I liked my bank being online and convenient. I knew my way around their web page and the font and characters were big enough for me to handle. I obviously was not one of the surveyed customers screaming out for change.
My fat fingers fumble with numbers on a phone, my eyesight struggles with small figures and I don’t want to change! And what if I lose my phone or it is stolen? I have changed from being an early adopter to an old dinosaur, a grumpy one at that.
“Not happy Jan!” as the Yellow Pages advertisement slogan said years ago.
Now don’t get me started on post offices.
What do you miss about real banking? Why not share your experience in the comments section below?
Also read: I’m not old! You are
Absolutely right!
Big Business is indulging in Shrinkflation at an alarming rate, constantly shrinking services and charging more.
Banks are perhaps the worst – closing branches, forcing us onto apps, paying depositors absurdly low interest, at best the base cash rate. The norm is cash rate +2 %, but we haven’t seen that for yonks.
If we allow a term deposit to roll over by default, the banks often have use of our hard-earned savings virtually free of cost.
They benefit from the government’s Deposit Guarantee, so we have no choice but to go with them.
There is such a thing as a Social Contract, and banks are breaching it – human bank tellers are an important part of the social fabric, providing interaction and helping to negotiate the system. Yet they are being sacked while executives enjoy massive pay.
Forcing us into Apps is a massive risk – sooner or later hackers and scammers will crack them.
One idea – let’s vote with our feet. If one bank keeps its branch going in an area, shift our business to it, and flee the shirkers.
The main reason banks get away with their ever-shrinking service is our inertia – we stick to a bank no matter how badly it treats us.
We customers must work on our self-esteem and demand proper respect.
Yes I also agree with [email protected].
My view is that some banks require their staff to sell “products” and insurance. I am in their branch to do my banking and appreciate the pleasant staff still employed in the bricks and mortar banks.
Not everyone wants to move their own funds around on internet banking and possibly make a mistake.
Dianne, vote with your feet – or rather fingers. Move to another bank that will allow you to transact on your computer.