1 reviews | Active since Dec 2019
Worsening my financial health
Discovery Bank has good interest rates and discounts, but the great irony to me is that the way the app is set up has fundamentally IMPEDED my ability to "bank healthier". I've never experienced a bank that offers such a paucity of information and control. I cannot get CSV exports and the statements are fixed -- I cannot choose a date range -- and my account aggregator -- with which I have successfully tracked all my spending on all accounts and kept my budget in hand -- cannot access my Discovery Bank transactions, because there is no website to log in to (other aggregators/trackers accept CSVs, but as mentioned, that's not an option either). So all the marketing says Discovery Bank is going to improve my banking behaviour and financial health, but this seems poorly thought out, because I'm left frustrated and scratching my head at how exactly it's doing this. I can't track things effectively and I can't gain access to the information I want when I want it. I basically cannot afford to use the Discovery Card on anything other than to maximise a few discounts -- because it intrinsically impedes effective tracking of expenditure. I've complained before on other forums, but the response is always some version of the fairly arrogant "that's just not how we work and we don't plan on working that way." A bizarre product.
2. For example, please provide ways of accurately tracking expenditure in the app and/or generating date-ranged CSVs (also have these on the website). You can't refuse to have a website while also only having a semi-functional app. And I don't want to phone a number just to be put on hold, trying to get a CSV -- again, basic functionality available through all other banks.
3. Please change the Vitality Money system which encourages spending, just to make a target. Surely the system should be about saving? Or at least about the ratio of saving to spend on the card? Instead, I get vitality points for spending and if I miss that target (i.e. by controlling my expenses) I get penalized through losing cashback on the iPhone benefit. That is crazy.
4. Please do better user testing before roll out. I don't appreciate being treated like a lab rat with my own money.
2. For example, please provide ways of accurately tracking expenditure in the app and/or generating date-ranged CSVs (also have these on the website). You can't refuse to have a website while also only having a semi-functional app. And I don't want to phone a number just to be put on hold, trying to get a CSV -- again, basic functionality available through all other banks.
3. Please change the Vitality Money system which encourages spending, just to make a target. Surely the system should be about saving? Or at least about the ratio of saving to spend on the card? Instead, I get vitality points for spending and if I miss that target (i.e. by controlling my expenses) I get penalized through losing cashback on the iPhone benefit. That is crazy.
4. Please do better user testing before roll out. I don't appreciate being treated like a lab rat with my own money.