The bank ID farce: online accounts don’t accept online statements

Locked out of online access

Locked out of online access

The ID banks require is getting beyond a joke. I’ve just been locked out of one of my online accounts, through no fault of my own, and they’re demanding I send them a certified document plus a utility/bank bill, but they won’t accept one printed online.

Yet like many people, both for the environment and ease, I opt for paperless billing wherever I can, so I simply don’t get any printed statements anymore, leaving me at an ID disadvantage when banks refuse to count those as ID.

Not only that, but the request for a ‘certified copy’ of my driving licence adds such a ridiculous effort to the process. Certified in this case means I need to find a solicitor to sign the copy and therefore certify it’s the real thing.  I’m rather lucky in that we have an in house lawyer so that is possible, but really for most people that is ridiculous.

Now in truth I do have one paper credit card statement that I keep, primarily for ID purposes. Though last time I checked it, as it wasn’t needed, I shredded the document, as is sensible to do. So now I must sit here and wait a month before I can get online access due to these onerous conditions.

I’ve never studied in detail whether this is all due to banks’ bureaucracy or, as I suspect, ever more strict money laundering regulations. Yet while I understand the need for security, we have to start moving the ID requirements into the modern world. The irony is I’m locked out of online access because I access my accounts online.

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