Botched Business Banking Platform

It absolute boggles the mind how a bank of the long standing quality of Standard Bank can ***** up so totally as they have with the new business banking platform (BBP).

I have been a Standard Bank client since 1984 and a business client since the late '90s. One of the main reasons I stayed with SB is that the online banking system was easy to use and generally worked well. That was until the new BBP was forced on me. The online banking system forced me to start setting up the new BBP. It did not offer that I try it and give feedback. It gave me no option. To say it is full of glitches is an absolute understatement.

First of all, Logging in can trap you in a loop of doom. The login is supposed to be done by scanning a QR code with your mobile app. You should also be able to log in with your existing password, but trying this simply puts you in a loop of confirming your identity via the mobile app and sending you back to the login page. So while there are both options, only the QR code works. You are, of course, damned if you don't have immediate access to you cellphone.

For a small business owner having the personal and business banking on the same platform was always a plus point as I could change between the two with one click. That is no longer the case as the two are now separate.

My list of accounts does not show my credit card account. Although it has been linked to the account forever, it is now nowhere to be found. On raising this issue with Standard Bank I was initially told that I had to create a new dashboard for the card on my mobile app. I did that and it still did not work. Now I am told it cannot be linked as it is a "One man business card". It is and has always been a corporate card, which has always been linked to my business platform. But now it can't be linked to the new BBP. I suspect the problem lies with the BBP not my credit card.

The beneficiary view is a pain. Before hand I could scroll through the list and immediately see what the last transaction was for each one. I could simply scroll down to find one. Now I have to wade through multiple pages.

I imported my beneficiaries, and the system imported my private beneficiaries and business beneficiaries into the same list. Why on earth would it do that?

Paying multiple beneficiaries is totally confusing. I see no list of beneficiaries to chose from. It is totally unclear where to even find them. If I have to search for each one separately then I might as well pay them individually.

What has happened to my list of people that I pay by Instant Money? It appears to have disappeared. When I set up someone on the system it processed the payment and sends out the voucher, but at no point allows me to set a pin for the voucher. So it is useless.

My bills also no longer seems to work the way it did before. It tells me that I need to link my debit card to pay Mybills. I do not want to pay from a card, but from my current account. I pay my tax via My Bills, so this should certainly not go over my card. My card appeared to be linked. It took several days of phone calls with their customer care consultant to find out that while the debit card appear to be linked on the BBP, it still has to be activated. Then Mybills was finally functional.

During the multiple calls with the customer care lady (I really feel sorry for her as she is getting the irate feedback for something that is not her fault) I was told that I could for now continue to use the old BBP but woul definitely have to change to the new one around February 2026. Well, the old one will not let me login.

I have finally had enough. I simply cannot afford to waste time every time I want to do online banking. So I am methodically moving all of my banking to another bank. Goodbye Standard Bank