Without doubt in my experience so far, Denmark must have the most complex system of personalised banking in the world.
Take for instance banking online with Danske Bank.
With my bank in Australia, logging on is just a matter of having a User ID and a password.
Not so with Danske Bank.
While I’m impressed and rather honoured they feel getting into my account needs security measures as provided by the banking gnomes of Zurich to the rich and famous, it is at the same time immensely frustrating.
It’s not a simple case of key in your User ID and password. Nope. You have to have a special calculator. This comes with an interim password so you can use it the first time to get a more permanent password. Then you can log on to the bank.
For that, you used to have to key in your User ID, then switch on your calculator, enter the password for that and up would come a number you used as the password for that particular time you logged on to e-banking. Phew.
If you transferred money, you again had to go through the rigmarole of getting another password from the calculator to allow that transfer. And so on.
Now, ‘to make it easier’, they’ve made us choose a permanent password for when we first log on and then we need to key in a password from the calculator to make transfers and confirm that with the password we originally log on with to e-banking.
Confused? So was I. In fact, I was beside myself with a mixture of anger and frustration the first few times because I ended up being blocked out for keying in the ‘incorrect’ password three times in a row. Seriously, it’s like a quest for treasure, just to get your account balance. And my balance is never like finding treasure.
On top of that, I just tried to transfer money into NQDII’s account but, obviously because it’s a Saturday, it won’t go through till Monday!
I wonder if this is the same all over Europe or just Denmark? I’ve never come across it before.
Then, a month or two ago I received a letter from Danske Bank saying that to ensure my banking security, they were writing to tell me my employer had been depositing my pay into my account with an out of date code (or something like that) and, for my ‘banking security’, they may not let it go through in the future.
This struck me as a tad odd. Do many people complain about money going into their account? I certainly don’t, in fact, the more the better I say! And if Danske Bank don’t put my pay in to my account they most certainly then will have one very cranky customer.
10 comments:
Maybe it's only that bank that does things like that? What I don't like is when I travelled there I need to use a pin # for my credit card, which I didn't have at the time.
I don't whether it is or not. I'm hoping to find out!
Yes, international credit cards are a contentious issue here. For an international city, it's bizarre that many places won't take international credit cards - let alone the pin code system.
Actually we also have the same in Indonesia. I once had an account and a credit card that went along with it and I was given such a small electronic gadget which can randomize pin everytime you press it so your pin to the banking website changes every time you log in to the site. Pretty smart but pretty damn annoying as well
I've never encountered such a system using internet banking, but I've happily left Danske Bank behind quite a while ago. I'm in Lån og Spar Bank by the way, but I'm quite sure it's not the standard approach. It might have something to do with recent incidents with phishing, something I believe larger banks have had problems with.
I'm not sure of the strangeness of the PIN-number, but it do believe it's standard in most European countries. Which credit card have you had problems using? How do you verify your identity, if not with PIN?
The writer: That's interesting to know about Indonesia. I think as Mikkel points out, it must have something to do with the skimming of cards, so maybe everyone will have them in the future. If that's the case, at least I'm learning to live with it now :)
Mikkel: Actually I don't have a problem with using my pin. If anything, it makes the transaction process quicker.
But, once you get out of the city centre, using my Australian VISA card has proved hit and miss, especially at restaurants. Luckily I have a Danish debit card now. I was first caught out at a restaurant when I went to pay, but luckily I scrounged up enough money out of my wallet! :) However at Føtex I wasn't so lucky and they wouldn't take the debit card but luckily there was a cash machine out the front. I think I need a Dan Kort which everyone seems to take.
Not being able to use a Visa is weird. And bad for business. I've always assumed that you could use most major credit cards everywhere, maybe because I've just always used that strange mix of credit and debit card that is the Visa Dankort. Anyway, thanks for the blog. It's always good fun to hear that leaving babies out in the blistering cold isn't common practice in other parts of the world. I'm looking forward to hearing about your visits to the Michelin starred restaurants :)
Mikkel: I think all goes well if you use a Danish credit card - just not international ones. However, I also joined the gym a couple of weeks ago, Fitnessdk and they didn't accept credit cards at all! You have to pay the membership fee and first month in cash. I raised my eyebrows and the girl serving me said, 'Yes, I know it's strange...' :)
I love the babies outside. And even those parents who leave their's in the pram while they go into shops. It really says something amazing about Danes and their society and it's one of the major reasons I've really warmed to being here. I hope society here never changes. It's how the world should be - and most certainly isn't.
As for the restaurants, well, we'll see how I go. I have a lot of convincing to do unless I go and try them on my own, which is tempting!
I went to Odense zoo last year and they asked me for a PIN number, which doesn't exist in Canada unless you're withdrawing money from a bank machine. So I got a PIN for the card and I couldn't even use it to buy train ticket in the early morning! The card was useless!!!
I know this is ages old, I just stumbled into your blog today and thoroughly enjoyed reading your observations about us Danes. Anyway in case you haven't figured it out by now, Danske Nank offers two systems - the one you're using with an Activecard, or another solution where you install a file on the computer and as everywhere else, just type in your username and password (only works with Windows/IE).
Hi Stefan, they never offered me that option - but it wouldn't help anyway because I am on Mac. I am quite used to the ActivCard system now but I think where it falls down is that you have to carry it all around the world with you to get the balance of your account - and I am destined to forget it!
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