Make Card Readers Optional!

Hi there!

This little website's been setup because we want to make a stand about something that we feel strongly about. Online banking card readers.

I (and many others) recently received one of these card readers from my bank in the post with a polite letter essentially telling me that from this point onwards I was expected to carry this 'useful' little device around with me to use whenever I wanted to do things such as manage my standing orders, or add new payees online. Brilliant, I think (sarcastically).

I think that for some people - the type of people who will write down their pin and passwords then store them in a 'safe place' (like their kitchen drawer or bedside table) - this system is absolutely fantastic. For someone like me, and i'm sure many of you reading this now, this system is a layer of security that we just don't need or want.

Who wants to carry a calculator sized piece of equipment around the country with them? Who wants to take it on holiday? Who wants to even have to use it when they're happy that existing (sometimes partial) pin/password combinations work perfectly well for them when accessing online banking at the moment?

It has been asserted that this system eliminates the problem of some bank employees taking away personal details and using them for their own fraudulent gain at a later date. Do i care? No. That's a problem for the banks to deal with internally, not by inconveniencing their customers when they try to perform standard operations. Yes, I can call telephone banking and do it without the card reader (with my particular bank) - but why should i have to? I don't enjoy being on hold, having to say my private details out loud in an internet cafe or on a train when it's much more efficient and secure to be typing them in over a secured internet connection.

What's worrying? All banks are planning to adopt this system - at least that's what I was told by a Natwest telephone banking representative recently. Are you worried now?

Anyway. We invite you to sign our petition by clicking here, to be presented to banks employing the card reader system, encouraging them to allow customers to opt-in/out - whichever is easiest rather than trying to force this ridiculous security measure upon us all.