Experiencing MCB/SBM Internet Banking
Once again, here’s a new experience of my life 
This article was written a few months ago, but I just decided that it was time to publish it 
Contacting MCB & SBM before writing this article…
Because of legal issues, I have first of all sent both banks a mail to ask them for an appointment to discuss about their web site and how it affects the user experience before I write this post.
SBM gladly responded to my mails, after which I was called for an appointment.
On the other hand, MCB replied to my mails, saying (I quote):
“It is to be noted that our specialists are working on the compatibility of Mozilla Firefox to our service.”
Internet Banking with MCB
So, some mins ago, I went onto the web site of MCB where I logged in successfully into the Internet banking Page.
The very first impression is a good one, unlike the SBM web site, don’t worry, the SBM review is after this one, at the bottom!
After changing my password on the first log in attempt, I was redirected to the main page, where my account was displayed. Cool !
I clicked on my account number, and the latest transactions were displayed.
But I wanted more!!!
I clicked on the More Transactions button, BAW !
The system displayed the following message!
lol, I am using the latest browser man, Firefox 3.0.x!
and even Netscape has stopped developing their browsers and are now recommending Firefox!!!
Nevermind, doesn’t matter much, hence I decided to try another option.
BUT where is the HOME button???
I spent a few mins clicking here and there, trying to see how to get to the home page again!
Conclusion : There was no home button lol!
I had to hit Reload from my browser in order to get back to the main welcome screen.
Now, lets check some other options, I said to myself…
I clicked on a drop down menu at the top, and selected Payment to another MCB account…
Oops, the system crashed, again!!!
Please not that I edited the original screenshot so as to be able to bring that long error message into 2 lines for easy readability.
However, I tried the same options using IE 6.0, and everything works fine out there!
bof, lets move forward, and try another option from the drop down menu:
I guess that its no use for me to copy the same error message here, lol!
I ‘went back’ to the home page again, and decided to download my past transactions, that what the button title was!
I clicked and, and, and…..
So, perhaps MCB’s Internet banking doesn’t really like Firefox, anyway, they recomment IE 4.0, so lets try with IE 6.0
And with IE 6.0, when you click Download Past Transactions, you are sent to a blank page !
The review of MCB Internet banking ends here, now lets change our bank
Internet banking with SBM
Now, lets move on to SBM Online‘s service to which I have been subscribed since years now…
lol, they lost their chance to give a first impression because on their main login page, there are loads of pictures missing!!! You dont even know where to click to start with!
Next comes the login process, which is very painful for the end user!
I dont even know how it works koz SBM Online provides a virtual keyboard for more security, but its a very annoying feature to use, and disabling it can be really a problem.
I have also noticed that the system at SBM is more secure, with
1. Keyboard navigation disabled (I ask myself wats the real use of disabling this???)
2. In case a user closes his browser accidentally or on purpose, he will be able to logged in only after 10mins.
The navigation inside the Internet banking Window is much more pleasant, even if there is no Home Button. Every menu item is easily accessible and all of them work wonderfully on both IE and Firefox.
Conclusion
On overall, I prefer SBM Online compared to MCB Internet Banking, despite the few problems on their web site, which doesn’t prevent the end users to carry out their transactions, irrespective of their browsers.
Optimizing a web site to a specific browser becomes necessary when your end users form part of the general public. You can’t force these users to stick to a specific browser. It makes sense to make your users to stick to a specific one when you have a web application into your company and your end users are your own employees.
btw, I got both of my internet banking accounts locked since I forgot my passwords LOL.
Anyway, thats only my brief analysis of their internet banking services and how I (as a user) see their system.
Any of you want to share your user experience?
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