Standard bank internet banking offline again?

[BusFact]

Its odd. The banks hate that stupid FICA legislation as much as we do. Its cumbersome, confusing, inconsistent and has more holes in it than a sieve.

One would expect them to have some sympathy and ensure the process was as pain free as possible. Nope, instead they make it as daunting as a visit to your local municipality office.

Our place of residence should have to be proved once every couple of years. Not by each bank and financial institution. Once by a central organisation, that all financial institutions have access to. Then the banks only have to verify who we are which should be done by biometrics in seconds, every few years for each institution.

Why they insist on a truck load of papers that are easily editable, I have no idea.

[Justloadit]

Why they insist on a truck load of papers that are easily editable, I have no idea.

Its the law not by the banks but by the government. Std Bank was recently fined for something like R105M for poor record keeping, so not surprised by the constant harassment for residence proof.

[BusFact]

Yeah, I get that which is why I said they hate this stupid piece of legislation as much as we do.

My point is that they could make it much simpler for themselves and us by lobbying Government (or getting together and doing it themselves) to make the proof of residence portion done by a single organisation and kept in a single data base. This organisation can focus on keeping residence info updated and have a standardisation of policy. (This is a particular bug bear for me as I don't own property, which means that every single bank has a different requirement for me to Fica and in fact these rules differ between branches and sometimes even between employees, not to mention from year to year).

Financial organisations can then access this database to verify residential addresses. All they have to do is verify who I am - much simpler. Already they access the Home Affairs database for some reason or other so the technology and infrastructure is there.

So now, when accounts get frozen because of a fica issue, they can become active again as soon as you get to the enquiries desk at your local branch. Every time you pop into your bank to collect a credit card or make some enquiry they can verify who you are by ID book or biometrics. This should then reset the FICA clock so to speak and you'd only have to make a special trip to the branch if you hadn't stepped into a branch at all in the last 3 years (or whatever their latest time span is).

This legislation is to pacify the international first world community. For us in SA we can really only pay lip service to it and so it is largely a waste of time and an inconvenience. How on earth do they expect to reliably verify addresses of millions of people who have no formal residence? Why complicate what could be done so much simpler?

I must stop writing about fica. My blood pressure is rising ...

[Phil Cooper]

I see internet banking is down again?

[BusFact]

Was ok for me at about 3pm, but now I check and yip, I can't get through.

[Dave A]

My point is that they could make it much simpler for themselves and us by lobbying Government (or getting together and doing it themselves) to make the proof of residence portion done by a single organisation and kept in a single data base. This organisation can focus on keeping residence info updated and have a standardisation of policy.

Like the Department of Home Affairs, perhaps?
Last I heard, we might be able to go to a bank to get our Identity Documents in future - so there's a clue on the relative capacity to deliver if ever I saw one.

[Phil Cooper]

The only problem is if someone could hack into the general information.......

[BusFact]

Like the Department of Home Affairs, perhaps?

I was kinda hoping for an easier solution, not a more painful one . For it to be remotely effective, it would need to be a privately run organisation. Possibly along the lines that the cheque clearing system is run?

Last I heard, we might be able to go to a bank to get our Identity Documents in future - so there's a clue on the relative capacity to deliver if ever I saw one.

I can just see it:

Monday: Go to the bank to collect my new ID book.
Tuesday: Get called back to the bank so they can take a photo copy of the same book they just gave me for FICA purposes.

I'd probably bleed all over the enquiries desk as I bang my head against it in frustration.

[BusFact]

The only problem is if someone could hack into the general information.......

How would that be any more of a problem than someone hacking into the current ID information database?

[flaker]

The banks are taking turns. I understand that FNB is down countrywide...BANK SHEDDING

[Dave A]

Internet Banking down again (as it was for periods on Friday).
And perhaps more disturbingly, today business online banking is down too (which it wasn't on Friday).

[Phil Cooper]

Yes - PAINFUL - and I will not pay interest on account to which I was trying to transfer funds ....

[Dave A]

Yes - PAINFUL - and I will not pay interest on account to which I was trying to transfer funds ....

Telkom by any chance?
If so, that's my "deadline important" payment for today too.

[Phil Cooper]

No - transfer from Standard Bank to Standard Bank Credit Card

[Dave A]

Ouch!

Business Online banking is back now (Whew!) but I expect you need internet banking for that one.
And internet banking still seems to be dead.

Makes one nervous when it looks like your bank's core IT might have got the wobbles.