04/19/2006, 12:20pm, EDT

Wednesday, April 19th

NIB cuts off Mac business users

The National Irish Bank (NIB) upgraded its online banking service over the Easter weekend, leaving Mac business users to fend for themselves. A report from Mac Information notes that individual Mac users cannot access the new system without an "ActivCard" -- which the bank has not yet issued to customers -- even as the firm halted support for Mac business users. Small businesses and individuals in Ireland who relied on business banking via Macs as well as non-Internet Explorer Web browsers such as FireFox can no longer access their accounts through the old system, which has been shut down in favor of the new eBanking website. NIB technical requirements for eBanking list only Windows 98/2000/ME/XP or Windows NT, with Mac support nowhere to be found. The bank's online ordering service is currently non-operational and customers are being told to phone their local branch. Agents at the NIB customer service center in Denmark offered no information on how long it will be before bankers will receive their ActivCards, according to the report.

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l008com

same boat

04/19, 12:45pm, EDT

I'm in the same boat with my local bank. They must have hired 3 clowns and a retard to make their online banking site. http://www.stonesav.com Its the worst I've ever used, it's so bad, I've stopped using it all together and when I have the time I plan on switching banks.

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rtbarry

I008com...

04/19, 1:22pm, EDT

man, i gotta agree. a framed site??? i'm almost tempted to guess FrontPage on that baby. that is some stoneage goodness.

switch banks. fast.

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jarod

I don't understand

04/19, 1:43pm, EDT

How in this day and age, and in what's supposed to be a reputable institution, you STILL have GOD DAMN F**KING MORONS that still pull idiotic decisions like this. Clearly the 'brains' behind this decision is someone that can't find his *ss with his own two hands! I feel for the Irish Mac users that deal with this dump. Transfer out. To hell with them.

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cartoonspin

I too don't understand

04/19, 1:59pm, EDT

Jarod you are correct sir! They are morons. It is not just the banking industry. Look at Disney and their subscription services for kids. IE only. If they the standard consortium accepted protocols this wouldn't happen.

For me this is not a good reflection on businesses who make this type of decision. Morons indeed.

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ClevelandAdv

Many Morons in IT

04/19, 11:00pm, EDT

As a web developer I have had to fight IT Managers who tell me "don't waste your time testing it for Macs". I was on bmwusa.com and the site told me to swicth from Safari to Firefox. While firefox is a good browser (much better than IE) telling customers what browser to use is idiotic. Just make it work with Safari! I am sorry you can only wear Nike shoes in my store or you will have to leave.

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JulesLt

Decisions decisions

04/20, 4:16am, EDT

My sympathy goes out to ClevelandAdv. We are often in the same boat - the customer will often state IE6 as their only required browser. Internally we will often test with Firefox, but no one EVER requests portable sites, which shows you how ingrained the IE culture is.

(Actually the UK now has higher IE usage than the US).

HOWEVER - recent changes in EU disability law suggest that what NIB have done may actually be illegal. Web sites need to be as accesible as shops.

I look forward to IE7 becoming the new standard, simply because it does support web standards more closely. But I expect dullards will still put browser checks on their site, even when other browsers can correctly render it.

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dice

A little research....

04/20, 5:08am, EDT

I'm a Mac user and have an account with NIB.... according to their website they have tested it on Safari 2.0 or later Firefox 1.5.0.1 or later running on OSX 10.4.

There are two different types of login, one which requires IE windows and the other for other browsers like Safari or Firefox.

http://www.nationalirishbank.ie/browser

A little research before stories like this goes a long way... Note: I have nothing to do with NIB.. just sortin out the facts.

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