Simple, Secure Banking from the Helpful Bank (natwest.co.uk)

Member Name: keeperofthematri

Product:	natwest.co.uk
Date:	27/07/09 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Secure, easy to use, clearly laid out

Disadvantages: None

I have a number of different financial products with a number of different finance providers but my current account is with NatWest. This review is about their website rather than them as a bank. The website address listed at the top of this page is actually incorrect as their web address is:- www.natwest.com

The site offers covers the following areas:-

+ Current accounts
+ Savings
+ Investments
+ Loans
+ Credit Cards
+ Mortgages
+ Insurance
+ Travel & International
+ Money sense

as well as offering information on security & safety, online banking & a number of other areas. You can also use the site to find your nearest branch.

Natwest customers who have signed up for online banking access this information through the site. There's a log-in icon at the top left & once you've clicked this you'll be asked for your 10 digit customer number. This isn't quite as scary as it might sound as the first six digits are made up by your date of birth eg: 220680 & the last four are allocated by the bank. One you've entered that you'll be asked for 3 random digits from your pin number (which is the same PIN you use to get cash out of the cash machine) & 3 random digits from the password you picked when the online account was set up. You can therefore rest assured that this is about as secure an online bank account as you're likely to get.

Once you've entered these details you'll see a page which tells you when you last logged in. After this comes the Account Summary page which lists all of the accounts you hold with the Bank including any credit cards you may have with them. You can transfer money between these accounts & even pay all or part of the credit card without even leaving the comfort of your computer chair.

The other sections are:-

+ Statements: Allows you to view statements of all the accounts listed online & do online transaction searches. You can choose to stop receiving paper statements here.

+ Transfers: Allows you to make transfers between your Natwest Bank accounts, payments to another bank or another person's bank account.

+ Payments: Allows you to make single payments, set up standing orders, view or cancel direct debits and pay your credit card. There is also a bill management facility but I've never used that so can't comment on it.

+ Alerts: Lets you specify that you want an e-mail or text message to let you know when your statements are available to view. You can also change the e-mail address that you've registered with NatWest here.

There is also a card reader that NatWest send to you which will issue you with a code to authorise any payments you've made on your card. When I signed up for online banking using this card reader wasn't mandatory, although that may have changed by now.


Opinion:

This website contains an awful lot of information about accounts, credit cards, loans etc that is accessible to anyone who accesses the site. You can, for example, apply for a personal loan online but, obviously, this site only gives you information about NatWest products. It's not a price comparison website so if you're looking at loans, credit cards etc the best thing to do is use some sort of comparison site for the product you want & if NatWest are the best option apply for it online here.

I've never applied for a loan online so I can't comment on that. I did, however, apply for my NatWest credit card online. The process was simple & straightforward & went without a hitch. The credit card appeared along with my bank accounts on the Accounts Summary page almost immediately so that I was able to keep track of what I'd spent as soon as I started using it.

The online banking section is, in my opinion, really good. Not only do I feel that it's safe but I can also move my money between accounts, pay bills, see when direct debits were last taken, cancel direct debits, send money to other family members, view statements for all my accounts, set up & cancel standing orders etc. Money being paid into your account shows up pretty much instantaneously so there's no waiting around for the site to update). This section of the site is clearly laid out & is very easy to use. To be honest with you, these days the only time I visit a branch is to either pay in cash or cheques (last one from dooyoo!) or take some cash out of the cash machine. All the rest of my banking is done through the online banking section on this site &, in all the time I've been using it (well over 5 years) I've never had any problems with it. Friends who do online banking with other banks seem to have a much simpler logging in system, requiring less information than NatWest do. You may feel that that's more convenient, but, I'd rather spend a few more seconds entering another set of details if it means I feel that my online account is a lot more secure.

Summary: An easy to use, secure banking site.