I recently had a quite a few number of bad experiences with State Bank of India's website. My commentary is specific to SBI, but can just as easily be applicable to all other banks in India.
Why do you need to send Internet Banking kit at my home? First off, I have to visit the branch to activate online banking...what kind of internet age is SBI living in? Secondly, when you set internet banking, they send you a letter containing username (or something like this) and password is sent separately on the mobile phone. Why do I need to wait this long to get an access to something that should be instantaneous? Why can't you give me the access while I'm still in your branch? Or better yet, why can't you give the access to me while I'm still online.
How many freaking passwords does one need to remember? There are just too many. One is for the main login. The other is the Profile password. The third is one-time password (OTP)when you add Beneficiary for third party transfers. There is another fourth High Security OTP password for each automatic transfer transaction you make. At the end of the day...I don't remember all these passwords. They make you go through so many hoops to do some simple tasks. Also, the whole thing about OTP password, why can't they send these ia emails because I'm still online. Also, what do you when I forget one of these passwords? It is not easy and 4-layers of extra security only makes me nervous that your backoffice isn't really protected.
Don't get me started on the structure of the website, the navigation, the design, the layout. Supposedly, SBI is India's largest bank, but it puts even smaller banks to shame when it comes to its website. Can you just reach across some of IT companies in your backyards and design a better website that serves your customers better. Why can't you look at your website as an additional channel to direct the foot traffic, so you don't have spend so much time serving customers in your offices.
All, I'm saying is...if SBI needs to look like a customer friendly bank, then it needs to provide great customer service through website as well. Website cannot be just an afterthought. You need to hire good people to design your website and match it with robust backend.
Oh...BTW..I never got my Internet Banking kit that I requested after several months of trying and escalations all the way up to nodal officers. The above experiences I'm talking about are the ones my parents experienced as I was helping them with Internet banking stuff. Along the way, I experienced these pains with them...hence this rant.
I would like to add that for adding third party transfer account, SBI asks to submit physical form to the branch and after that one-time password option is enabled. I have never seen such a pathetic process that we have to visit bank everytime anyone wants to add a third party account.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. I totally agree with you. I once had a NRE account with SBI. After going through so many hoops and escalating the issue with their top level nodal officers, I still am waiting to receive my internet banking kit and one time password. I have now since moved on to HDFC, but it is very disrespectful for the nation's largest bank to give a run-around to its customers.
ReplyDeleteI think the worst thing about SBI going online is the time limit they give for doing anything.
ReplyDeletethe forms for adding a third party is huge and the site does not allow anyone to copy paste info. by the time i finish tying in any information it tells me that my session expired and i need to relog in. and then add the profile password. which in total is a waste of everyones damn time.
I have a very good experience with SBI's internet banking site. It enabled me to perform very complex tasks.
ReplyDeleteI had a very bad experience with FCNR accounts that I opened with State Bank of India two years ago. The day I opened the account, the rate was 3.4%. It took them a month to deposit my check. By that time the rate was 3.1%. So it was my loss. In U.S.A., it would be the bank's problem. I needed money after 2 years. They penalized me 4 ways:
ReplyDelete1. Reduced the interest rate to 1.77%
2. Added a penalty of 1%
3. Used their own way to calculate additional service charges.
4. Other transaction fees.
Pretty much I got next to nothing while they made easy money. Of course they have a standard way of responding to your emails. Some emails won't even be responded to. I would recommend that people don't open any FCNR accounts. Some banks provide a little better customer service but they have other issues. It's not worth it. They take your money easily but charge a lot when you want it back. It takes a lot of time also. There are a lot of ways to get better returns in U.S.A. without all the hassles. Don't forget, you have to fill out special tax forms for these kind of meager investments.
Your comments regarding Indian banks are right on track. They do take customers for a ride. I've seen a lot of sneaky fees you mentioned. I've so far stayed away from any investments. I do agree, if you want hassle-free experience, invest in the US stock markets. I advocate buy and hold approach to index funds investing and dedicate a lot of time on this site to this type of investment approach. Thanks for your comments.
ReplyDeleteShame on you. SBI is totallly useless. I experience it every single day. Only good thing is that their stupidity helps you to protect your money.
ReplyDeletevery very true
ReplyDeleteAjit,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I still have not received my username and password (and the so called Internet Banking Kit) they keep talking about. Thanks for commenting on this blog.
I was planning to open an NRE account with SBI. After reading all these feedbacks, I think I should stay out of SBI. Please share if you guys had any recent experience with SBI. Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteReally sbi f**ks and is toally a**hole ....till my current experience....
ReplyDeleteI want know about SBI " third party transfer " please help
ReplyDeleteSBI is the shitiest bank you can bank with, with small small thigs like address change contact no change you have to go into your local branch, i am from Pune and now live in Delhi for contact change i have to visit my local branch in pune, what a process...
ReplyDeleteget the fuck away from this Bullshit Bank