FNB ***-Headed Internet (Business) Banking

Is it really just me, or are other FNB internet (business) banking users also dumbfounded by the lack of functionality and logic on the platform?

Okay, so here I am again, about to pay my weekly creditors. The first creditor I come across, I think…didn’t I pay this creditor last week? I have no way of going into FNB’s internet banking platform and searching for payments by beneficiary. Can you believe it!!!!! The most basic, essential functionality, not available.

The only way you can establish whether you have paid a beneficiary, or not, is by traipsing through previous batches or by searching through your bank statements. You CANNOT lookup a beneficiary’s and see what payments have been made to that beneficiary previously.

I discussed this shortcoming with FNB about this 4 ½ years ago, when our business opened an account with them. At the time, I realised that the issue wasn’t going to be dealt with appropriately, so I navigated my way through the system to speak to the head of internet banking for FNB’s business customers. At the same time, I was also connected to the head of business banking. I offered all sorts of help: to meet their programmers in person to walk them through the failing (not that it was difficult to understand), and to highlight many other gremlins which exist on the platform. I would give them as much of my time as they needed, so that they could improve the useability of platform. I offered for them to dial into my PC, if that was easier, all which was turned down.

They apparently have never received a complaint from another business banking customer related to the same issue…... like they had to receive a complaint to act on something in the first place. We’re talking about the most elementary, but extremely important functionality on an internet banking platform, that of being able to find payments by beneficiary. I received hundreds of other excuses…..not a priority; no budget; not in our scope of work; we have received many industry awards for our internet banking platform etc. What a load of codswallop.

I stayed in touch with the head of internet banking and pointed out many other flaws in the platform over the years. She is a lovely lady but completely hamstrung by bureaucracy, incompetence, and other BS at FNB.

When I finally retired from my banking job in July 2024, after 34 years in the industry, and started to work full-time in our business, I got increasingly frustrated with FNB’s poor internet banking platform. Eventually after hearing the same excuses again and again, I decided to lodge a complaint. Having been informed by the complaints department that the complaint was going to be managed by the very lady who I was complaining about, I guided the consultant to escalate the matter further, only then to receive a call from the head of business banking, who I also had spoken to 4 ½ years ago. After listening to him for 5 seconds, I knew I was being stonewalled, so I insisted that he escalate the matter to someone more senior. I then received a call from the complaints department in the CEO’s office, I believe. Nothing new, exactly the same monotone excuses. We’ve never received complaints from other customers about this issue; all other internet banking platforms are the same; why don’t I search by batch or use my accounting package etc. How short-sighted!

As I mentioned, they have got hundreds of other gremlins on their platform. The submission process takes about 3 clicks (it differs by action); they have menus hidden behind orange tabs on the left of the screen, as well as on the top of the landing page; when SARS payments are setup, you can’t authorise them on your phone like other payments, you first have to authorise them on a laptop or desktop, and then on your phone; authorisation requests don’t all go to the same place, sometimes they got back to the process menu, and then on to the authorisation tab, sometimes they go straight to the authorisation tab; you can’t make individual payments, all payments need to be made by batch. I could go on for hours, very little on the platform is intuitive. FNB waste thousands of hours of the customers’ time, and of their own time. Their call centre must be inundated with basic functionality calls all day long.

I got told their number one priority was to sort out access and password reset functionality. Not a bad idea. I challenge any business bank customer to get access to FNBs internet banking platform without having to call first FNB's call centre and spend hours on the phone getting walked through the steps. With all the tech around, you would have thought FNB may have spent time making their internet banking platform more user friendly. No sir. They can’t even be bothered to sit down with one of their customers and get shown around their own internet banking platform.

It's inexplicable how FNB could have built such a sub-standard internet business banking platform. I suspect it's cultural, because they all sing from the same hymn sheet. It must stem from being in such a dominant position, and being so full of self-importance, that they’re not willing to listen to their customers. They’ll happily rake in billions in banking fees, but won’t bother implementing a simple, but very important, and essential, piece of software change.

Hopefully one of two things happen. One, they start getting eaten by their competitors, or two, they realise that they’re a bunch of plonkers, and start paying attention to the things that matter in their customers’ lives.