Was asked by a fellow for whom I do his tax for to investigate this bank, which has been operating for 2 months. He was attracted by the promise of high interest with the convenience of card transactions, internet and mobile phone banking
You have one account which is divided into 2 portions. You allocate a sum for the investment side and another sum for the daily transactions
You can swap money from one portion (they call it a "pocket") to the other. There are certain restrictions on the number of swaps from one pocket per month without incurring penalties. This latter rule is a bit vague
However, internet banking is not safe. You simply enter a login (your mobile phone number) and a password, and off you go. There is no further security for doing transactions of any type. I asked about what would happen if a customer used this app at say, an Internet Cafe and the keystrokes were captured by a key-logger. The rep on the phone pretended not to have heard of this and all she would say is that they have had no reported issues, which does not answer the question.
So we went to a branch (there is one in Wynberg Main Road which advertises the account in the window). The staff were even less clued up and could not show me a demo of the account working. She demanded FICA documents even though I clearly told her that this was just an enquiry, not an application to open an account. As soon as she heard that we did not want to open an account, she lost interest and stood up, indicating the visit was over
The commercial section of the account is run by Bidvest Bank, and the investment by Old Mutual Money Market. It appears to me that the swapping of funds from one "pocket" to another is not as seamless as it should be. Enquiries with Bidvest Bank are immediately referred to Old Mutual where, depending on who answers the phone, you may receive the information you are seeking. They would not be drawn on the aspect of a third party getting hold of internet banking login details and emptying an account. When told that other banks require a one-time pin or a number generator, she said that other banks are welcome to do their thing but this is the way that they (OM) run things
I got the impression that the account is aimed at low earners who want to set aside some money and receive a better rate of interest than a regular savings account. The other aspects of the account are mostly window dressing
You have one account which is divided into 2 portions. You allocate a sum for the investment side and another sum for the daily transactions
You can swap money from one portion (they call it a "pocket") to the other. There are certain restrictions on the number of swaps from one pocket per month without incurring penalties. This latter rule is a bit vague
However, internet banking is not safe. You simply enter a login (your mobile phone number) and a password, and off you go. There is no further security for doing transactions of any type. I asked about what would happen if a customer used this app at say, an Internet Cafe and the keystrokes were captured by a key-logger. The rep on the phone pretended not to have heard of this and all she would say is that they have had no reported issues, which does not answer the question.
So we went to a branch (there is one in Wynberg Main Road which advertises the account in the window). The staff were even less clued up and could not show me a demo of the account working. She demanded FICA documents even though I clearly told her that this was just an enquiry, not an application to open an account. As soon as she heard that we did not want to open an account, she lost interest and stood up, indicating the visit was over
The commercial section of the account is run by Bidvest Bank, and the investment by Old Mutual Money Market. It appears to me that the swapping of funds from one "pocket" to another is not as seamless as it should be. Enquiries with Bidvest Bank are immediately referred to Old Mutual where, depending on who answers the phone, you may receive the information you are seeking. They would not be drawn on the aspect of a third party getting hold of internet banking login details and emptying an account. When told that other banks require a one-time pin or a number generator, she said that other banks are welcome to do their thing but this is the way that they (OM) run things
I got the impression that the account is aimed at low earners who want to set aside some money and receive a better rate of interest than a regular savings account. The other aspects of the account are mostly window dressing
