Open Banking: how can you stay safe when sharing financial data?

MS Money, wow thats an old program! Surprised it even runs on modern windows

This comment was removed at the request of the user

I was dubious and looking at alternative software for a Win10 computer, but loathe to leave MSMoney that I had used successfully for years. I downloaded the free “Sunset edition” and it runs fine.

Change the “few years” to “Decades” and I’ll agree totally. Banks have NEVER promoted ANYTHING that is not beneficial exclusively to the banks themselves. Trust them ? They are having a laugh ! Not in 100 years will I ever “trust” any bank to do anything other than look after its OWN INTERESTS !

Looking at your second link it is interesting to see how different age groups view mobile-only accounts – the the graphic in the introduction. Maybe Caroline would be reading some more positive comments about Open Banking if younger people had replied.

This comment was removed at the request of the user

It was just a provocative comment to elicit discussion, Duncan. 🙂 If you read my opening comment you can see that I have my own reservations and am definitely not interested.

Rightly or wrongly, many of us (with notable exceptions) become less willing to adopt new ideas when we get older. If we do decide to adopt technology such as online banking, contactless cards, smartphones etc. we often become advocates.

My bank has today told me that it will be discontinuing sending paper statements. I’m not quite sure why I carried on receiving them when it was so easy to download them as csv files for the past seven years.

This comment was removed at the request of the user

This comment was removed at the request of the user

The reason you give for not having a smart phone is curious, Duncan. I am not sure why you should worry that you “would be telling the world (your) every geographic move”. Most of the people I know delight in letting their family, friends and other contacts know whenever they are somewhere different from the usual circuit – you don’t hear from them for weeks on end and then suddenly they need to phone you from the airport to say they are off to Maastricht and “can you recommend a restaurant?” or some equally lame and limp excuse to publicise their exotic lifestyle.

I have a smartphone but ninety-five per cent of my time is spent within five miles of the city centre of Norwich so tracing my movements would be a pretty unrewarding exercise and in any case, unlike you, I am not interesting enough to generate that sort of enquiry. Whenever I go away for a day, or have a short break as I have just had in London [oh no – I’ve let the cat out of the bag now], I don’t need to take my smart phone with me so I am still recorded as being in Norwich; you could adopt the same policy in order to foil your pursuers. I am indifferent to whether or not you wish to use a smart phone but I have heard that they can be quite useful, although other means of communication remain available.

P.S. As I have suggested before – you should also give yourself a calmer life and stop worrying about the thumbs down to your comments; you don’t know who they are from or even what they actually mean on the spectrum from just “I don’t agree with you” to “I totally detest what you are saying”. Give peace a chance – roll with the punches.

John, I’m all for giving peace a chance! I’ve only recently acquired a secondhand smartphone from a son and use it more than I expected. It’s not very good for posting comments as it seems to lead to even worse spelling than normal (missing letters and, however hard I try “there” my brain wants “their”, and I do know the difference).

It is very handing for checking websites while I’m out, searching for places, tourist attractions, nearest ATM (hardly ever use one), and using maps to find your way around a strange place. Plus, no doubt, loads more I haven’t yet discovered and wouldn’t know I needed.

I could not care less about being tracked – I’ve nothing to hide. However, one day, if anything untoward happens or when I become weak in memory it might be very useful to be tracked – and found.

We can take Convos too seriously, as if when we speak someone seems to question our motivation, knowledge, integrity rather than appreciating that we all have differing points of view, background, knowledge, and the right to explore issues along a different tack perhaps. Not a reasons to shoot the messenger, but to attract reasoned responses. It is what conversations are about, isn’t it? It’s not prime minister’s questions.

Hear, hear! Malcolm.

I don’t care for the demanding style of interrogation that sometimes emerges here, nor the use of links as crowbars to force doors open. I think links are useful to substantiate comments and reference further information, not to substitute for a comment and force readers to go elsewhere and then come back to continue the conversation. I would propose that the community guidelines could usefully be adapted to cover the appropriate, and supportive, use of links.

This comment was removed at the request of the user

This comment was removed at the request of the user

Duncan – I have no criticism of links that are inserted after a comment to give added detail, or as evidence, or to reference some supporting material in a publication or elsewhere – so carry on providing links as I do when I think it would help. What I don’t like – and it’s only my personal preference – are comments [or whole new threads] that start with a link and little else. This wouldn’t happen in a real-life Conversation; I think contributors should summarise what they are trying to tell us and use a link [if necessary] to back it up or extend the contribution for those who wish to explore it in more detail.

My remarks were not directed at you – it has become a common behaviour. In the early days we could not insert links and had to explain ourselves. I happen to think that remains the most courteous way to proceed.

Yes, I know all that Duncan. It doesn’t bother me. GCHQ can tap into all calls on any device from anywhere in the world so worrying about smart phones seems irrelevant to me. Those with nothing to hide have nothing to fear. My reference to “peace” was in the form of advice to you to give yourself some peace from worrying about things you can’t control or influence. You seem to be obsessed with access to your computers via back doors, tracking your internet use, following your movements on a phone, and polluting your cyberspace. I think it gives you a bad time while most of us seem to manage to have enjoyable on-line experiences without all the anxiety you project, but it’s up to you. All I am saying is that, as we get older, we don’t need all this fretful overload of suspicion and distrust. In my opinion, the simple life is the better one.

I support your invocation of the observation attributed inconclusively to Edmund Burke that “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”. I am sure you [like most of us] have done many good things in your life, Duncan, and need have no fear of misjudgment at the appointed hour, so you do not have to keep going at full tilt wearing yourself to a frazzle for ever and a day. You are allowed to take it easy and give yourself some peace.

This comment was removed at the request of the user

I passed my booklet onto a friend but I cannot recall any advice on avoiding an unauthorised overdraft. That would have been useful. The booklet had a couple of pointers that I found helpful, however.

@gmartin, Hello George. I did read the Which? guide when it was first put online but as far as I am concerned it does not adequately explain the real advantages – if there are any – to a customer when they give such wide access to their data. There is nothing in it that convinces me to use it, or how I would benefit, when other secure and private methods to track my information are available.

The main point I was making was that in my view, rather than promote another financial product that is subject to questions about its usefulness and its security, Which? could look at providing, or pointing to, ways that people good get a better grip on their own finances without involving data sharing with 3rd parties. Personal financial software does this, and although this has been reviewed, there could be more encouragement for people to use it to control their money.

I think we – Which? – should press for the banks to issue basic software to individuals to help them track all their money and accounts, personally not through a system that involves a number of 3rd parties. I also think that they could devise home budgeting software to help people control their spending.

I see no reason why Which?, with its expertise, could not also look at cooperating with this. You did produce an income tax calculator if I remember rightly, and maybe you could get BBA cooperation and funding to help the cause.

@gmartin, Thanks George. I hope we’ll hear back from Chiara or yourself as to whether Which? sees this as worthwhile.

I’d like a clear and rational explanation of exactly what great advantage Open Banking could be to a potential private customer. So far those I have seen have waffled on but not made any kind of convincing case. Perhaps someone here can tell me why I must join in?

It’s a bit like the desperate marketing for smart meters and virtual assistants, isn’t it? A solution looking for a problem.

This comment was removed at the request of the user

This comment was removed at the request of the user

This comment was removed at the request of the user