So I’ve been on a personal finance management kick lately, and I’ve started using a tool called Yodlee Moneycenter to manage my accounts. (So far it works well, and I’d recommend it despite the mediocre interface.) Anyway, since I have a mortgage account with Trinidad’s own Republic Bank, I figured I’d take a shot at setting up an online account there as well, so I could add it to my portfolio. So I head over to the Republic Bank website, click around to the online banking setup, and arrive at a form to put in my information. I’d just started to fill it out, when I noticed this:
Fill in the form below, click register, print, sign and drop off at any Republic Bank branch.
Come again? Investigations revealed that yes, there is no way to set up your online banking account ONLINE. The irony of this doesn’t seem to register with the geniuses in Republic’s customer support. Their reason for this foolishness is, of course, “security”. Because you know what’s secure: having a bunch of printouts that contain my name, address, all my account information, AND my online username and password sitting around your bank branch, waiting for some disgruntled employee to steal them. Not only have they designed a system where I can’t set up an account from abroad (fuck you, diaspora!), but given this obviously insecure system, I wouldn’t even WANT to set one up if I could. Good job, Republic!
And needless to say, RBTT has the same idiotic policy.
I can haz a real banking system?
