When digital doesn’t work

I’ve just spent a frustrating hour trying to access my bank account. It started with trying to login online. Here’s how it went.

Enter your card number and password. OK, we now need a OTP code from your app. OK, now enter a code from the SMS or email we just sent you. But then that didn’t work.

So I then tried to message the bank on their website, and that didn’t work … they are redesigning it. Ah well, back to the app and tried to do what I wanted in the app. What did I want to do? Download a bank statement for my accountants. Access statements? Hmmm, that doesn’t work.

Thinking it was stupid me, I started all over again and, after entering passwords, PIN codes, OTP codes and email codes in another loop, it all failed again. So then I ring the bank.

Hello, and welcome to Barking Bank. Press 1 for your account balance; press 2 to make a payment; press 3 for anything else.

I press 3.

What would you like to do next? Press 1 for things to do with internet banking; press 2 for things to do with mobile banking; press 3 for anything else.

Well that sent me in a loop as I wanted 1 and 2. All of that got me nowhere, as all instructions were about how to download the app, which I have, and how to get help online, which wouldn’t answer the question I needed to answer.

Anyways, long and short of it is that I finally got through to a human. Yes, a real human! It took about 15 minutes and then there’s another security system. Full name, date of birth, post code, etc.

It turns out, after all these codes and security structures, that my app had to be reset remotely as it wasn’t working for some reason the bank wouldn’t tell me. After the reset, I could get statements on the app and access online using the PIN generator and OTP on the app … something I couldn’t do before.

Asking the human why the app had been blocked, they had no answer. Then, to make sure all worked well before losing contact with the human, I just checked that online and app-based banking all worked well. Another round of entering a range of codes from card number, CVC, PIN, OTP, you name it and more, yes everything worked.

However, by the end of this round of entering never-ending code generated requests on mobile and online screens, I felt exhausted. I said to the human, who sounded about 20 years-old, whether they were aware of how complicated the first ever bank innovation, the ATM, came around and the debate about the PIN number. They said no idea. So I explained that the guy who invented the cash machine – it is debated, but most attribute this to John Shepherd-Barron – was debating how to secure the machine. He came up with a six-digit personal identification number, now known as the PIN but, before moving forward, discussed this with his wife, Caroline Murray, over dinner. She suggested shortening the PIN to four digits because she could only remember four numbers, a decision that led to the four-digit PIN becoming a global standard.

The thing is that half a century later, we now need to remember PINs, OTPs, card numbers, CVCs, usernames, passwords and more, and the UX has gone to shit. Bring on board a much better process please.