When I have the option, I generally do things online. Shopping, paying bills, communicating, and countless other actions are simplified through the internet. The online banking experience is currently a bit broken with my bank. What I have done so far:

1. Applied (and was instantly approved) for a 3 month term deposit. This was 3 months ago. I got a great rate (>3% higher than they are now offering), and the process of moving money into the account could not be simpler. So far so good.
2. Received a letter from the bank about a week ago, saying that I needed to “contact a branch” if I wanted to close the account, or it would be automatically renewed. How do I contact a branch? they don’t publish phone numbers for branches anywhere, so I went to the bank, queued, and explained why I did not want to renew. The teller filled out a form, and I signed. I was told that the cash would be back in my keycard after the account matured.
3. Saw a missed call and a voicemail on my mobile today – from the bank. Decided it would be easier to go in and sort it out than call back. Got to the bank, and they realised it was an online term deposit. They said I can close it online, and didn’t need to come in. Apparently it has been closed now, but I will find out tomorrow I guess.

Problems:

1. Auto-renewal – Typical bank behavior, but still annoying
2. Sending me a letter to contact a branch – The worst thing about this was that I didn’t actually need to contact a branch (apparently) and I could (apparently) do it all online. Even if this was the case, it is meant to be an online account. For me, email gets done, mail gets put in a pile and dealt with later. Please email.
3. Ohhh, it’s an online account – This went unnoticed on trip #1 to the bank. A bit irritating.
4. I cannot find, after extensive searching, a way to close the account online. There are plenty of links for renewing it, but not closing it. Either they were lying straight to my face, they have hidden the “close account” button, or they have some of the worst information architecture I have ever seen.

If you are going to offer a product online, offer the whole product online. As wrong as it is, one of the reasons I have all of my accounts with this bank is so that I can manage all my finances in one place. That actually played a part in my opening the account – part of the value I saw in the offer was the simplicity of it. This experience was one of the most inconvenient “online” processes I have ever been through (a few ebay purchases come close!).

Hopefully all will be fixed tomorrow.

Update:

Sigh. I should have known it wasn’t over.

I logged in this morning to check that everything had been sorted out. Turns out, my term deposit was renewed, at the generous rate of 1.5%! I earn twice that rate with my online savings account, at the same bank.

After trip #3 to the bank, I have been promised that I am “in the queue” and that “it will be fixed within an hour”. They have 40 minutes.

Confidence? Low.