Request to update BOI Business OnLine Website

northwestramble

[font=Verdana, sans-serif]I would like to formally put in a request that Bank of Ireland actually updates Bank Of Ireland Business on line website. We hear that all requests are passed onto Bank Of Ireland from this Forum, so I thought it would be a good idea for any business customers who also would like to see the website updated to add their views. [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]As a Minimum, without even adding new functionally to the site.[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]1. Work across multiple browsers, at least the most common browsers (IE, Chrome, Firefox, Safari )[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]2. Support to work on Macs[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]3. Provide an App to work on Android and IOS[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]4. Support for the most recent SSL security, TSL 1.1, 1.2 and disable weak Cipher Suites if active.[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]

[font=Verdana, sans-serif]If others would like to add comments and suggest improvements, feel free to add. Let’s see if BOI is serious when they say they listen to customers and value our feedback. [/font]

Ashosul

I second that.

BOI have given us many new channels to talk to them by, between boards, twitter etc. but any casual glance will tell you that everybody has the same complaints and we are all getting the same "fob off".  All we have heard in the past is that "we will pass on your concerns" & "we are working on it" and while I appreciate that the customer service folks aren't in a position to make any changes I do wish we could find out if anything is actually going to change in the near future. 

The other alternative is to vote with our feet/money and change banks but what else is available but AIB whose IBB is not without its own issues, althou I do find that at least it works more often than not!

 

Itsdacraic

Can't access the site at all this morning on IE. Tried multiple computers all with the latest version of IE and Java. 

bappelbe

northwestramble wrote: »

[font=Verdana, sans-serif]I would like to formally put in a request that Bank of Ireland actually updates Bank Of Ireland Business on line website. We hear that all requests are passed onto Bank Of Ireland from this Forum, so I thought it would be a good idea for any business customers who also would like to see the website updated to add their views. [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]As a Minimum, without even adding new functionally to the site.[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]1. Work across multiple browsers, at least the most common browsers (IE, Chrome, Firefox, Safari )[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]2. Support to work on Macs[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]3. Provide an App to work on Android and IOS[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]4. Support for the most recent SSL security, TSL 1.1, 1.2 and disable weak Cipher Suites if active.[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]

[font=Verdana, sans-serif]If others would like to add comments and suggest improvements, feel free to add. Let’s see if BOI is serious when they say they listen to customers and value our feedback. [/font]

I would like to add my voice to that  - make it standards compliant so it works on all browsers on all platforms (Linux Windows Mac Andriod ios etc) in otherwords standard Java and no proprietary extensions!
The person who wrote the original version to be IE only should be taken out and shot! - I have a computer programming background and I stand by that comment!

Also I feel that making the user change password so often (I think it is 90 days) makes users choose passwords that are very easy to remember and sequential, which counteracts the purpose of it.

Bank of Ireland: Sarah

Hi all,

Thanks for taking the time for posting your feedback here. 

Please rest assured that we will pass on all of your feedback to our Development team, and as we have said before we will advise our customers on the website and on social media of any updates when we receive them. 

Thanks,
Sarah

Ashosul

as i was saying...... no change there then!

northwestramble

Another area that could be looked at, is around SEPA. Would be a great time when doing an overhaul of the website to implement a strong and well explained SEPA module.

Irish Steve

It's blatantly obvious that the entire IT system at Bank of Ireland is hanging by a thread, and close to total meltdown.

The problems started when the decision was made to outsource the IT functions, all the people within BOI that understood how their systems worked were displaced, and the end result is that every "enhancement" that has been made in recent times is not as such an upgrade to the core systems, it's a free standing external module that has to interface with the core systems that are increasingly outdated and unable to be modified in the manner required because the knowledge of how it really works has been lost.

I have had to live with the shortcomings of the business banking system for a long time, and it's not getting any better, every change that comes in now is effectively a downgrade of more and more of the functionality, and it wasn't exactly good before they started. Even fundamental things like a forced 800 x 600 resolution screen that can't be expanded to allow for other menu bars, and similar things makes it abundantly clear that there is no real understanding or knowledge within BOI to enable them to change the application to do what the users require, and there are other fundamental issues, such as the disaster of SEPA, and the massive limitations of the LATM lodgement system that all tell me that to remain with BOI is to invite problems as a result of their inability to make changes in a timely and effective manner.

We have all seen the disasters that befell Royal Bank of Scotland, and on the basis of what I'm seeing with BOI, it's no longer if they are going to meltdown, it's when, the problems are happening with increasing frequency and for longer periods, and it is only a matter of time before the whole pack of cards comes crashing down.

The "retail" package is not much better, I had to try and work out what is happening to a direct debit earlier, and between BOI blocking the use of the "back" key in browsers, and a total inability to get online information about a specific direct debit mandate, it's now become abundantly clear to me that the whole SEPA implementation was done as an external add on to the main banking systems, and the interface in to it is far from user friendly, to be blunt, it's a total shambles.

BOI no longer has the resources or the skills to make the changes that are fundamental to a secure and capable banking system. A long time ago, a security certificate was not updated before it expired, My IE task threw a warning at me, which I didn't ignore,  and when it was brought to their attention, the response from the front line support was "ignore the security warning", and when I decided to press the matter, which took some determination, I did eventually get through to someone that understood the importance of the issue I was raising. Despite that understanding, it took 6 MONTHS to get a security certificate updated, the IT systems were under so much pressure, they didn't have the resources to make what should have been a 2 minute job if it had been done at the right time.

BOI had the perfect opportunity to sort out their IT systems, a recession that meant that they no longer had to process the sorts of volumes that were happening during the boom times. It didn't happen, and the result is that their IT is now their achillies heel that  IS going to cripple them at some stage.

Their response to the recent IE issues was illuminating. As far as they were concerned, the Business banking application was secure and working correctly. It probably was, although I have my doubts, based on some of the questions being asked here, what they totally did not recognise is that using IE was the issue, just opening IE exposed users to risks as a result of the reported vulnerability in IE, In passing, what's very interesting is that despite XP being taken off support, a patch to fix IE6 and above has been released for all operating systems including XP.

I feel sorry for the support team that work this board, they are probably only too well aware of exactly what is being talked about here, and also know exactly how little is really changing within BOI, yet they continue to provide "the party line". That must be very hard to do, given the level of complaints that are being raised.

I'm not expecting anything significant to be announced for at least 18 months. I will be surprised if anything new appears on the scene within 2 years, simply because the pressure at the moment is on the retail end, towards getting mobile banking to work at a higher level of functionality, simply because of the pressure that's been exerted to get customers out of branches, and in that respect, business customers represent a small proportion of the queues that are becoming an increasing factor in day to day banking.

I wish I could find something positive to say about what's happening, but I can't. The big worry is that I'm not sure that any of the other banks in Ireland have any better offering. Maybe that's the real cost of the the banking bail out, if the main banks had been allowed to fail, perhaps the new banks that would have replaced them would have been able to bring in systems and methods that would have been more appropriate to the modern era.

northwestramble

I agree, it does look like BOI is struggling with its online presence, BOI business online really is not a site fit for purpose anymore. Any normal business would be ashamed to have such an outdated website as a selling point to customers, yet BOI inc is happy to keep ignoring many of its customers. 
I set up this post in the very small hope that if we have enough people offering suggestions and adding comments all under one post, we may, (highly unlikely granted) get BOI to issue a statement via the reps here,  on the current plans for BOI Business on line website. I am sure like any good organisation, BOI has a list of IT projects it plans for 2014, 2015. It would be great to know if this upgrade is on it. 
If not, then be upfront and tell us, it is the least paying customers can expect after so many years of constant saying all feedback is considered. 
If it is, then why not use boards as a way to gather feedback from customers and build an excellent new website,fit for purpose. I can but hope  

Type 17

Bank of Ireland: Sarah wrote: »

...we will pass on all of your feedback to our Development team...

With all due respect, when I read that post, I honestly wondered whether such a development team actually exists...

ectoraige

I have to agree, when I hear that the Development team look at the feedback, I have an image of a Gary Larson style cartoon with a room of middle-aged men roaring in laughter at the latest request.

Red Alert

I'd have to chime in as well on the poor quality of the online consumer banking system as well.  For a long time BOI used to recommend IE, clearly never bothered to check if their site worked on another browser.  At one stage, they even had a separate app for some other browsers because the primary one didn't work.  Add to that the fact that there's much less functionality there than on other competing banks, not to mention the very bad styling choices that negatively affect usability. 

Bank of Ireland: Billy

Hi All, 

Thanks for taking the time to post your comments.

The feedback really is appreciated.
We have been in contact with Business Online and have been passing on the messages as and when we receive them. 

We hope to be able to give you a more definitive update on BOL development over the coming weeks. 

Thanks again for your time. 

Billy

northwestramble

Hi Billy
Nice to hear there "May be"  some news on developments, in the mean time, would it be possible for the Business Online team to issue a statement to address the following questions.

1. What is their process for dealing with issues and suggestions from their customers, do they just review them and priorities them, and if so, how often is this done. 
2. Could they list the number of "new and enhanced" features they have added to the website in the last 3 years. 
3. Could they list the number of features they have discontinued in the last 3 years
4. As part of this possible announcement, will BOI ask customers for suggestions on what should be part of the new development work.

It would be nice to get a view of how BOI Inc think they are performing, as I am sure many here would agree that BOI Inc seems to have a very different impression to how well the website is working compared to everyone who uses it  



 

Bank of Ireland: Sarah

Hi northwestramble,

Thanks for your post. 

Our Business Online Team have advised us on your queries:

1. As we have advised previously, all customer feedback is greatly appreciated. This feedback can come through the Business Online Helpdesk, letters, emails and of course social media. We do host customer focus groups on an ongoing basis. The idea here is to get to meet customers and hear their feedback first hand. This information supplements everything that comes in through our other channels. If you would like to be included in a focus group, you can PM us your details and we will pass them onto the customer care team for their records. 

2. As you are probably aware, we haven’t made many changes to Business Online in the last few years. However, following the introduction of SEPA you will have noticed that some changes have gone live, including out new homepage with easily accessible help & support guides. We are confident that more changes will go live over the coming months. 

3. The introduction of SEPA drove a couple of changes for Business On Line,  for example the removal of open 3rd party payments.  Customers are now required to store beneficiaries prior to sending all payment. Any amendments, be that additions or removal of features will be communicated well in advance. 
 
4. As mentioned above, the comments of our users are extremely important to us. The reps here on Boards and other social media channels and Advisors on the phone lines and Customer Care teams genuinely do collate the feedback and always pass it to the development team and senior management for consideration. Again, if you want to participate in a customer focus group, send us a PM and we will ensure your name is added to the panel.

Thanks again for taking the time to post your queries here.

Sarah

Del Amitri

I would like to participate in the focus group.  I tried to PM you as you suggest, but I get a notice stating your profile is set to not accept PMs.

northwestramble

Hi Sarah
Thank you very much for following up and having the team come back with a detailed reply. Nice to see something other than, feedback is important. It is good to see that BOI have kind of admitted that while they do take all of the feedback and survey groups, they never acted on it for business onLine customers over the years. Or maybe, they were just not asking the right questions  
I think that you and the reps here do a wonderful job, and always make every effort to help answer our queries. 
Sure, I would be happy to take part in a focus group, though not sure if BOI would like what I have to say  Who do I drop the pm to.

I would guess many people here in boards would love to take part as well. How about BOI hold a Q&A on boards some day, with members of the business team and they answer questions from customers about a new site and other services. Lets help BOI move into the modern world  

Bank of Ireland: Sarah

Hi northwestramble, 

If you send Bank of Ireland Billy a PM with your name and contact details we will pass this on to our Development team who will contact you when a focus group is being organised in the future. You can click the link in Billy's or the other Bank of Ireland reps signatures to be brought to the private message option. 

Holding Q&A's with various people from across Bank of Ireland on Boards is definitely something the Reps here would love to do in the future for both new and existing products and services. We are delighted to hear there is an appetite to participate in these and we will use this post to further strengthen our case to set this up :)

Thanks,
Sarah

northwestramble

Thanks, Sarah,
Would be great to have a Q&A on here, hope that BOI Inc takes its on board. They like to keep claiming they always listen to customers, then here is a simple way for BOI Inc  to show this is true. I wish you the best of luck in getting it organised.  Sadly I think that BOI Inc still live in the dark ages when it comes to new ideas and tech, but who knows, we get a surprise and be proved wrong
 

Can you ask Billy to let me send him a PM. Went to try it , but did not work

Tow

Another option is to buy a BOI share and join the gray hair brigade at the AGMs. Where else would you get free tea and a sambo, for the cost of a few cents.  Might even see your self on the TV, as an added bonus :-)

Bank of Ireland: Sarah

Hi northwestramble,

If you make sure that you have signatures set to show and that private messaging is enabled. If you then click the link in Billy's signature, it should work for you then. 

Thanks,
Sarah

Bank of Ireland: Sarah

Hi all,

I know this is not Business Online related, however we are holding our first Q&A here on Boards with a member from our Mobile Team on Wednesday the 28th May. 

If you'd like to ask him any questions relating to Mobile, please feel free to ask away on this thread. 

Thanks,
Sarah

Brook

northwestramble wrote: »

[font=Verdana, sans-serif]I would like to formally put in a request that Bank of Ireland actually updates Bank Of Ireland Business on line website. We hear that all requests are passed onto Bank Of Ireland from this Forum, so I thought it would be a good idea for any business customers who also would like to see the website updated to add their views. [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]As a Minimum, without even adding new functionally to the site.[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]1. Work across multiple browsers, at least the most common browsers (IE, Chrome, Firefox, Safari )[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]2. Support to work on Macs[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]3. Provide an App to work on Android and IOS[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif]4. Support for the most recent SSL security, TSL 1.1, 1.2 and disable weak Cipher Suites if active.[/font]
[font=Verdana, sans-serif] [/font]

[font=Verdana, sans-serif]If others would like to add comments and suggest improvements, feel free to add. Let’s see if BOI is serious when they say they listen to customers and value our feedback. [/font]

I would like to add my name to the list of dissatisified business customers ...  I can't access my business account on my mac. When my free banking period is up I will be paying 15 euro per month and still not be able to look up my bank account online.  My choice is to close the bank account or to buy a new laptop with IE. The decision is easy !

2Shae

I am currently in the process of moving everything away from my bank of ireland business account and over to ulster bank. Not only does it allow me to login from my mobile and send payments it also connects directly to my company accounting software (xero) which then imports the daily transactions and asks me to mark off every transaction.

You are losing my business BOI because you are lagging WAY behind.

Bank of Ireland: Sarah

Hi Brook,

Thanks for your post and for your feedback.

We appreciate all feedback and will pass this on to our Development team. 

If you would like to add your name to be included in a focus group for Business Online in the future, we will be happy to pass on your details. Please send me or any of the Bank of Ireland reps a private message (please click on the link in my signature) with your name and contact number and our Development team will contact you. 

Thanks, 
Sarah

Bank of Ireland: Sarah

2Shae wrote: »

I am currently in the process of moving everything away from my bank of ireland business account and over to ulster bank. Not only does it allow me to login from my mobile and send payments it also connects directly to my company accounting software (xero) which then imports the daily transactions and asks me to mark off every transaction.

You are losing my business BOI because you are lagging WAY behind.

Hi 2Shae,

Thank you for your post and sorry to hear you are moving your business account. 

We appreciate your comments and as mentioned in our past replies on this thread, we always pass on our customer's comments and feedback to our Business Online team. We understand our customers' need to access Business Online on different browsers and are currently looking into this, although we do not have a resolution date for this as of yet. 

Please let us know if we can help with any other query. 

Thanks,
Sarah