Nationwide Online Banking (nationwide.co.uk)

Member Name: carlmcq

Product:	nationwide.co.uk
Date:	13/07/09 (111 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Does what it says on the tin

Disadvantages: Well, if your computer illiterate you may be scared off!

The Nationwide Building Society is the largest building society in the world, based not a million miles from my hometown, in Swindon. Hardly a hotbed of financial prowess, but nonetheless, Nationwide's home. I've banked with them since birth, having a small savings account since I can remember.

Nowadays, thankfully the task of queuing in places such as banks has become a sporadic task rather than a regular chore due to online banking, something which Nationwide's website provides and uses to optimum effect.
www.nationwide.co.uk is obviously the web address, so nothing too hard to remember there. On arrival to the homepage, the familiar blue, red and white style of Nationwide is apparently throughout, with their logo in the top right-hand corner. All across the hompage are adverts for various offers provided by the company. From ISAs to 'Gold' credit cards, to home insurance to personal loans. There's also a latest news section, including articles on "How your AGM vote makes a difference" and "Having trouble paying your mortgage?"

Now, I must confess, I've never even been tempted to view the latest news section, or discover what Nationwide can do for me when it comes to home insurance, probably because I'm just a naïve 22 year old and therefore believe I won't grow up and need to get a house or believe the banking world will stand upright forever...although we're regularly informed that Nationwide is in as good a position as anyone during the current 'economic downturn'. Instead, as many of the users would do, I use the website to simply check my accounts. Clicking on the large "Sign On" button on the homepage takes you to the secure sign-in page, which requires a customer number, private information that only you should know and three random digits from your 6-figure security code provided by Nationwide.

After you've remember all that, and make sure you do as if you get it wrong twice you're account will be locked until you contact them by phone, then you'll see a page double checking your last sign-in date, just to make sure no one else has accessed your account since you last did, and then you arrive at your account overview page. You can view a demo on the website on how to do all this and how to navigate your way around for those who may be 'computer illiterate', so fear not, anyone can use this tool.

There's nothing elaborate when you've signed in, and you'd hope that would be the case. The last thing you want is to be confused and not understand what each figure means and what Account name equates to which account you regularly use. Instead, it's just listed in blue text all your accounts, with hyperlinks to see in further details your latest withdrawals and deposits. You can look in great details to the summary page, and choose how long you can look back in your records for previous transactions.

Depending on which account you have, I have a FlexAccount, which is recognised as a current account, you can choose to create an e- savings or e-bond if you have a FlexAccount. The regular stipulations apply for these kinds of savings account, such as you cannot touch the money for an allotted period of time, or can only make a couple of withdrawals each year, or lose some of the interest being made on the money (which at present, will be minimal of course!).

You can also report stolen or lost bank cards whilst signed in, or make quick transfers between internal accounts, for example if you want to put more money in your current account into a savings account. Nationwide does enable you the chance to transfer money to external accounts, even if they are not Nationwide, using a little gadget which looks like a very basic calculator in Nationwide colours which I believe was sent to all customers signed up to online banking over the past few years.

If using a shared computer, make sure you sign off at the end of your session, for obvious security reasons, but the website makes sure it doesn't save all your sign-in information when you close the web page. You can save your customer number, which I do, as it's ludicrous to think you can instantly remember a 10 digit number off the top of your head...and remember, you can only afford to get it wrong once or else your account will be locked.

Elsewhere on the website, you can look at details such as other accounts which are available to new and existing customers, insurance, mortgages, savings, loans and travel information. Now, to explain each one of those would require me to receive a medal for extensive writing, so this review has focused predominantly on the online banking and maintaining your accounts from the comfort of your own computer.

Some sceptics will say it's not secure enough or what's wrong with just going to the bank and paying in using a book. But I assure you, you're probably more likely to be stuck in a bank raid when you're paying your money in, and thus lose it, than you are to lose your money with this process. It's quicker, easier, reliable and convenient. What more could you want? Free money? Oh, go on then...

Summary: Recommended for all customers