Nationwide (nationwide.co.uk)

Member Name: Fiver29

Product:	nationwide.co.uk
Date:	02/10/09 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: See text

Disadvantages: See text

I use the Nationwide as a savings account mainly, but since they have decided to cut their counter services right back I use the online banking for most things.

The security here is probably not as good as the Natwest, mainly because 2 of the 3 codes that you have to enter can be stored on your computer, meaning if someone burgles you an nicks your laptop or computer, they only have to crack the last one.

The first number is sent to you by the Nationwide and is a random 10 digit number, on the sign in page there's a check box asking if you want to store this number for future use.

The second code is memorable data, you will have entered this when first signing up for the account. This can be first school, pet's name, mothers maiden name, etc. If you're using Firefox (not sure about IE because I don't use it), Firefox will ask you if you want to store the password for this account. If you click yes you won't need to enter these details again, there will be a row of dots showing that the word is in place.

Finally there are 3 drop down menus for you to enter random digits from your pass number. As these are randomly chosen each time they can't be stored on your PC.

Using the online banking is really simple, anything that involves transferring money or standing orders requires that you enter random digits from your pass number again, but just browsing around your accounts doesn't require any extra security.

The worst thing about the Nationwide security is there's no automatic log out. So if you've been into your account and the phone has rung, or someone has come to the door and you've been disturbed, yo can come back to it hours later and find it still logged in. So if you're using a works computer then you might find that everyone in the office knows the state of your bank account, even if they can't steal anything from it. If you're in a lot of debt, this could be very embarrassing.

I will carry on using it, because I can't be doing with standing in queues in the branch for hours on end, only to be told they're not allow to do that transaction anymore, but I don't particularly like using it.

Summary: Not recommended