[LINK] Banking websites minimum requirements

[Ivan Trundle]

Dear Linkers

After being stonewalled by the Commonwealth Bank e-mail support staff  
after suggesting that their website could be dramatically improved  
with minimal effort so that Mac OS X users share the same experience  
as their Windows brethren, and being told to check the site's  
recommended browsers for the site (which I had already done  
beforehand, which is why I was writing to them) - I thought that I'd  
check what was required for internet banking, across the major bank  
sites.

Here's what I found, direct from each bank's support pages. It's  
patently laughable for some of the banks listed here, and  
demonstrates that many of us use internet banking in spite of their  
efforts. Full marks to Westpac for at least acknowledging that in the  
interests of security, the latest browsers should be used: and their  
general website reflects the attention to detail here (it works  
across browsers, across platforms).

Commonwealth Bank
   Windows: IE 5.0 or IE 6.0
   Mac OS X: Netscape 7.2

Westpac
   Windows: IE 7.00, Firefox 2.00
   Mac OS X: Safari 2.00, Firefox 2.00

ANZ
   Windows: IE 5.5 and above, Netscape 7.0 and Firefox
   Mac OS X: Safari 1.2

NAB
   Windows: IE5.5 and above, Netscape 7.0x or 7.2, Firefox 1.0x
   Mac OS X: Netscape 7.0 or 7.2, Safari 1.0x, Firefox 1.0x

St George
   Windows: IE 6 and 7, Firefox 1.0 and above, Netscape 7.02
   Mac OS X: Safari 1.0 and above, Firefox 1.0 and above

Bendigo Bank
   Windows: IE 5.5 and above, Netscape 7.0 and above
   Mac OS X: IE 5.2.3, Safari

It's not surprising that some banks are suggesting the use of  
browsers that are no longer supported: this is a reflection of the  
fact that they don't care about their customers too much, and not  
enough to suggest that they use more-secure browsers in general.

However, I think that this information should be recorded and  
published in a web-accessible table so that prospective customers can  
make comparisons and choose their internet bank accordingly. Note  
that I make no judgement about what security features are in place  
for internet banking, which deserves attention in itself.

iT