How do Barclays make their online banking etc. Windows only?

This topic was created by Julian Bradfield .

[Julian Bradfield]

How do Barclays make their online banking etc. Windows only?

I'm hoping the mass of techspertise here can help me understand this...

Along with 200k other customers, many pissed off by now, Barclays moved me and my modest investment portfolio to a new "Smart Investor" platform in late August. It doesn't work, using either Firefox or Chrome on Linux, though both are their recommended browsers on Windows. After two stage of complaint, the reply is now basically, it's never going to work because of "issues with Linux".

What I hope some of you can tell me is, what the hell can they be doing, technically, to make such a situation even possible in these days? (And they're not just sniffing the user-agent string, 'cos I've tried that.) I thought that making sites work with any standards-compliant browser was what happened naturally nowadays!

[jake]

Re: How do Barclays make their online banking etc. Windows only?

There are any number of ways to profile which browser/OS combination people use. It's usually possible to spoof any given system to get around it. But I wouldn't bother.

Instead, vote with your wallet. Tell them they are about to lose a customer for life, with all the attendant word-of-mouth negative advertising[0] that entails. Follow through if they don't fix their obviously broken-by-design system. Leave, and be sure to let your bank manager know why on your way out.

Obviously, it won't cause changes to be made if it's only you complaining. But how about 50 people a day? Can you imagine, 50 people a day walkin' in and singin' a bar of ... Bloody hell, why does that song always come around on my guitar?

As a side note, now might be a good time to move on anyway. I found this with a simple search. Something seems to pong a trifle at Barclays these days. Doesn't mean it can't be fixed, but is the wait worth it for you?

[0] It already worked for me ... I'll ask before opening an account with Barclays. If they indicate "no workie, because Linux", I'll be moving on. It's that simple. I'm absolutely certain I'm not alone.