View Full Version : NatWest - FREE Credit Card Reader.
We do some of our banking with NatWest, and today got a new banking card through the post today.
Looks like a modern credit card with the chip thing on the surface.
They say we're going to be sent one of these free for use with home banking.
http://natwest.com/microsites/general/card-reader-user-guide/index.asp?cmp=reader
Whoo, Hooo..... A new toy for free :thumbs:
Wonder what other uses it's gonna have in time?
Hmmm, so if you want to check your balance at work, or at your mates, or on holiday, you have to take that with you, along with your password...
No doubt also, if somebody gets hold of it and uses it to crack into your account - the liability is now on you, rather than the bank. Also probably makes using an account aggregator like Egg's Money Manager impossible.
I think Barclays have sent these out to customers too.
I've no idea to be honest, Only got the card today, the reader box is gonna follow.
To be honest, I NEVER do any on-line banking anywhere, on ANY computer others than at home.
I don't trust other peoples computers for security, viruses, trojans, key-loggers etc etc.
cjanderson
20-11-2007, 11:17
Yep, i have a barclays one. how fab, i now can not check my balance when at work, or on holiday or at parents. Only at home. great stuff.
i wouldn't mind if it was just when i sent payments, thats fine, but its for even logging in. So thats screwed up egg money now.
cheers barclays :thumbs:
Yep, i have a barclays one. how fab, i now can not check my balance when at work, or on holiday or at parents. Only at home. great stuff.
i wouldn't mind if it was just when i sent payments, thats fine, but its for even logging in. So thats screwed up egg money now.
cheers barclays :thumbs:
Can you take the card reader with you?
Does it work then?
neilalford
20-11-2007, 12:33
Can you take the card reader with you?
Does it work then?
I'd assume so, but it's not exactly convenient.
Luckily none of the places I bank with have started using these yet so hopefully they wont catch on.
Bapapapa
20-11-2007, 12:55
Wonder what other uses it's gonna have in time?
It's nothing to get excited about.. :nuts:
All the card reader does is generate a security number for you to enter when creating a new payee through online banking.
You can check balances or pay dosh over to existing payees without the need for the reader at all..
cjanderson
20-11-2007, 13:36
Can you take the card reader with you?
Does it work then?
assume it will work anywhere, i just don't want to have to carry around a small calculator whereever i go.
It's nothing to get excited about.. :nuts:
All the card reader does is generate a security number for you to enter when creating a new payee through online banking.
You can check balances or pay dosh over to existing payees without the need for the reader at all..
Dam, I was hoping I could borrow other people's cards, read in the details off the Natwest reader, and use some hacking software to take all the money from their on-line bank accounts.
Dam, my plan is ruined :cry:
fothy123
20-11-2007, 15:16
RBS use these too.
As mentioned by Bapapapa above, you don't need it for checking you balance etc - only for adding payee's and things like that (for the RBS).
bollecks
20-11-2007, 15:36
Oh for gods sake, like it already doesnt' take long enough to log in with 3 passwords, random security questions etc...
unrealnils
20-11-2007, 17:14
lol the natwest one can be a pain to log in too, worse when you get it wrong and they freeze it till they send you something via snailmail.......
Of course better to have that and not be hacked
This is a pain in the ******* arse. Logged on to my bank last month on the last possible day to pay my monthly credit card bill. My vard had been stolen the previous month so it was a new number. When I tried to pay, it told me that I should use the "machine I had been sent". I didn't have one.
Result - £40 late charge that they refused to recind.
I have now ordered these three times in the last two months. I still haven't received one. I still can't create new online payments (including the bloody credit card) which is three more payments I have to make this month.
It is frustrating as hell, and NatWest never give me an apology. Just "We will send you another one sir". Which never arrives. :brickwall
I'm effectively locked out of online banking :mad:
stupendo
20-11-2007, 21:23
All sounds a bit backward to me, I bank with Lloyds TSB and they use a keyring size access code device. Seems to be really secure and not too bulky to carry around. I certainly think all banks should go this way the idea of having a card reader would certainly make me think about moving banks.
http://www.phunqube.com/casestudy.php?id=35&PHPSESSID=18f83185ab12a6e1f93cf7c8dd260fa5
Natwest card reader required a new Switch card to be issued by Natwest. You have to use it when setting up a new payee, and making subsequent payments it appears. Also, they aren't hardcoded to you as I have used both the one Natwest sent the OH and me, mind you, maybe it does just work with one card after first use.
Hmmmm, this is not sounding as good as I 1st suspected.
What I thought was it was going to cut out all the messing with passwords.
I'd have my new smart card (which is the only bit I have so far) and a new pin number.
I go to log in, It askes me to insert my card (which it then accepts)
It then asks for my new PIN number, and blam, I'm in.
So extra secure as a theif would now need my new smart card as well as knowing my PIN, and easy for me as I just pop in the card, enter the pin and start on-line banking. (without multiple layers of passwords etc)
So, it does not work like this then?
Bapapapa
21-11-2007, 19:49
You still need to login as usual with:
Your 'usernumber'
Online PIN
Online Password
THEN if you need to add/create a *new* payee you use the reader which will ask you for the card's PIN (ie not the online PIN) and it'll then give you a security number.
You have to use it when setting up a new payee, and making subsequent payments it appears. I've just made a credit card payment (already on file) without needing to use it...
KennyVader
21-11-2007, 20:17
assume it will work anywhere, i just don't want to have to carry around a small calculator whereever i go.
I wouldn't mind the Nat West one so much if it actually WAS a calculator as well. It's got enough buttons that I'm sure it easily could have had a second purpose as a calculator. Then I would be more willing to carry the damn thing around.
As it is the thing is at home somewhere and effectively I can only do my online banking at home now, so I naturally am tending to move business away from Nat West. It's very much a retrograde step on their part. I'm interested in Coolio's statement that her card works in different readers, I'd assumed it was locked to my account ... maybe I will "lose" the one I've got and see if they'll send another one so I can leave one at the office.
My business bank account is with Bank of Scotland who have gone with the far smaller and far more convenient SecurID keyring token, and I got a second one from them, so I have got one at home and one at the office, far more usable.
Nat West are morons.
Bapapapa
21-11-2007, 22:42
I very much doubt the reader is card specific.. :suspect:
I agree it's a shame it's not a basic calculator as well - that'd be handy, tbh..
You still need to login as usual with:
Your 'usernumber'
Online PIN
Online Password
THEN if you need to add/create a *new* payee you use the reader which will ask you for the card's PIN (ie not the online PIN) and it'll then give you a security number.
I've just made a credit card payment (already on file) without needing to use it...
What I meant, was for new setup payees, you will need it going forward. For example, I added Amex, whenever I make an amex payment they prompt me to use it (it seems to cause false results a lot?!?) but when I make a payment to say my Nationwide CC (which I've had on my account for years) I have no prompt.
Have had mine for over a month now, never being asked for to actually use it.
From what I have read it agrees with posts above that you only have to use it when setting up a new payment.
If paying to an existing one then not required.
Not sure if this is better or Nationwides approach where you get a lot more security questions you register with them online, like what's your favourite animal or film. Again it only seems to ask these when setting up new payments not for existing stuff.
FINALLY
mine turned up yesterday after so long. I finally have full access to online facilities again.
agree with CJAnderson - been issued my Barclays one and they're a pain in the arse... I used to access Barclays online banking via. my mobile phone, anywhere, anytime - now I have to carry this daft calculator around with me - what a nuisance...
I suppose if people didn't fall for Phishing scams, they wouldn't be required at all :(
The cynic in me thinks it's all a cunning plan to squeeze that extra little bit of debit interest out of people.
Either that or cause people to not transfer into savings accounts as often.
The only thing with the Barclays one (and assuming all others are the same) is that it's both PIN and card specific for logging on and then also paying away the funds, which will reduce the amount of fraud that the Bank are liable for.
Basically a win-win-win scenario for the banks and extra hassle for the customer.
Grandmaster
02-12-2007, 14:53
Got mine from Barclays. What a piece of junk. I have to ram the card in and hold it down hard to get contact, and the code it generates when it eventually does work is not accepted by online banking.
It's a good thing I'm in the UK now so I can go into the branch and sort this out, but locking me out of my paying my company expenses in the meanwhile is totally unacceptable.
is there a bank that doesnt do this?. TBH I'm thinking very seriously of switching to a bank that doesn't bust my balls when I want to spend my money. :oh-hum:
Just got mine. What a joke this thing is.
Nationwide will be rolling these out in next couple of months.
Will need to reissue your debit card and send reader.
Only seems to apply if you have the Flexaccount debit card as that will allow transfers and payments. Does not seem to apply if just have credit card as that is only viewing transactions.
You need to phone them if you are not going to be in UK for 3 weeks from late March as they will cut off your web access if you don't use the readers by then.
Is to replace their 6 additional security questions you could choose from list like what is your favourite animal.
KennyVader
29-01-2008, 15:18
Nationwide will be rolling these out in next couple of months.
Will need to reissue your debit card and send reader.
Only seems to apply if you have the Flexaccount debit card as that will allow transfers and payments. Does not seem to apply if just have credit card as that is only viewing transactions.
You need to phone them if you are not going to be in UK for 3 weeks from late March as they will cut off your web access if you don't use the readers by then.
Is to replace their 6 additional security questions you could choose from list like what is your favourite animal.
A bank with sense. I wish the Bank of Scotland would take notice of that, and realise that only transfer/payment transactions need extra security, not just looking at account balances, which is what I mostly use BoS online banking for. It's a pain in the arse having to find the token just to log on every time. At least the BoS went with the keyring sized things not the huge mock calculator effort.
A bank with sense. I wish the Bank of Scotland would take notice of that, and realise that only transfer/payment transactions need extra security, not just looking at account balances, which is what I mostly use BoS online banking for. It's a pain in the arse having to find the token just to log on every time. At least the BoS went with the keyring sized things not the huge mock calculator effort.
NatWest are very good you only need to use the security calculator if setting up new external payments outside your linked NatWest accounts.
So far have never been asked to use it for existing already set up payments.
Not clear which approach Nationwide will use but it definitely appears to be only for payments (maybe all or only newly created ones).
One thing that really ****** me off speaking to Nationwide about my flexaccount over the phone is for security they want to know your current balance or last transaction so have to have the online account summary open in front of you. One time I failed security as they asked balance and I said a few hundred £, which they said was not good enough (had £400 or so). Had to phone back with webaccess and then was okay.
At The Gates
01-02-2008, 22:09
Why don't they just use key ring sized RSA SecureID tokens like the rest of the planet?
KennyVader
01-02-2008, 22:38
Why don't they just use key ring sized RSA SecureID tokens like the rest of the planet?
Because for some reason they wanted to make presence of the card important. Who knows why. I think I read somewhere that there may be online shopping tie-ins at some point. Securid token would be far more convenient though.
Saw a funny thing while I was in the Nat West bank today, waiting to speak to customer services. Some really old guy came in with some problem with his PIN. The woman behind the desk needed him to type it in, and he couldn't do it without speaking the PIN out loud as he typed it. The woman was constantly stopping him and saying "No please DON'T SAY YOUR PIN OUT LOUD" but in the end she gave up and he said all four digits as he typed them ... slight security problem there then, especially if he does the same in the supermarket etc.
KennyVader
26-08-2008, 01:37
Might as well throw the card readers in the bin
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23544406-details/Personal+data+of+1m+bank+customers+found+on+secondhand+computer+sold+on+eBay+for+35/article.do
Personal details of more than a million bank customers have been found on a computer sold on eBay.
Highly- sensitive information on American Express, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland customers was stored on the machine's hard drive.
It includes names, addresses, mobile phone numbers, bank account numbers, sort codes, credit card numbers, mothers' maiden names and even signatures.
It was described as 'a data thief's treasure chest', with everything a criminal needs to assume a customer's identity - and clear out their bank account.
The massive data loss - one of the worst ever in Britain - is a clear breach of the banks' obligation under the Data Protection Act to keep all personal information secure.
They expect us to jump through security hoops to access our accounts but then they go and give the data away like this. In this case it looks like it was their archival contractor that has let them down but even so ... WTF? All the companies I've ever worked for get certificates of destruction just for recycled paper, let alone computer disks and tapes. So I still call Nat West responsible for this.
Still, makes a change from the Home Office losing our data.
To be fair, the last instance was PA Consulting losing the data, not the Home Office itself. Most of the 'Government' data losses are actually losses by private sector companies contracted to provide services, not losses by the civil service itself.
custard_chris
26-08-2008, 08:56
To be fair, the last instance was PA Consulting losing the data, not the Home Office itself. Most of the 'Government' data losses are actually losses by private sector companies contracted to provide services, not losses by the civil service itself.
What difference does that make? The data is still lost, and I don't see this or any future government stopping out-sourcing this sort of thing.
The difference is that I keep seeing the civil service being criticised for this, whereas civil servants aren't actually involved and most would prefer that this sort of thing wasn't outsourced to begin with (for exactly this reason).
While i see what you are saying, the 'Government' are the ones who outsource in the first place and should be held accountable regaurdless. I'm not blaming the civil service directly through
Thanks :thumbs:
It's fair game to blame the Government. I often see people on boards criticising the civil servants for this sort of thing though (the loons on BBC Have Your Say are particularly bad for it), so I'm probably just oversensitive to it.
All sounds a bit backward to me, I bank with Lloyds TSB and they use a keyring size access code device.
When did you get that? I bank with Lloyds TSB, but I don't have one of those. :thinking:
Good lord. So am I due another letter telling me details have gone astray?!
Chris Locke
26-08-2008, 12:19
Its not as if encryption software is expensive, either. Truecrypt is free and is widely respected.
I'm with HSBC and haven't had any of these stupid card readers sent through so I hope it stays that way.
DeadYankee
26-08-2008, 14:07
I've had 2 now from Natwest but I've never had to use them yet despite using my card online fairly regularly. All seems a bit random
Hmmm, so if you want to check your balance at work, or at your mates, or on holiday, you have to take that with you, along with your password...
Why on earth would you want to do that in the first place?
DeadYankee
26-08-2008, 14:12
To find out if you could afford a cheap weekend bunk-up with your secret lever?
hate the things
I've got a Barclays one, where you need it to just look at your bank balances - and although you have to type in an 8 digit code, the first digit has been the same for the last 1.5 years every time I've used it - what's the point of that?
and what happens when the battery runs out - am I going to be without access to my money?
very annoying things
Barclays say in the gumph they sent with the reader that the battery will last about 8 years apparently.
I agree it's annoying having to carry it around if you ever want to check balances but it's the price we pay for security I guess....
The old method Barclays used was fairly secure I would have thought, i.e 3 usernames/passwords, one of which wasn't typed in but selecting the 1st/3rd/8th or whatever digits from a drop down menu.
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