We hear you...! | Blog.CommBank

18th May 2012

We hear you…!

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By Drew Unsworth

It’s been an interesting week for us here at team NetBank after the recent updates to the site.

Opinions are certainly polarised, with lots of customers liking the new look and feel and others not being quite as flattering, but it’s great to see people really care and we are here to listen.

The shock of the new

The team here built the new look based on feedback we get from our customers around how they want NetBank to be simpler. So far, we have only just changed the landing page where you can see your account balances and there are more changes to come, but once the initial shock of the new is over I am sure you’ll enjoy it. I have lots more to say on what I like about the new site, but that’s a whole new blog.

In the last few days we have had over 3 million customers log on and they’ve been able to do their banking without too much bother.

One of my favourite comments was from someone who said it was too yellow!

Tweaks and tweets

What is interesting is most things are in exactly the same spot, we’ve just moved the font around. When you log on to NetBank you want to see the balance of your account, so we made that bigger. We also put a coloured ‘+’ and ‘–‘ because a number of people don’t know what a debit or credit is. Of course I had an accountant friend complain as he likes DR and CR, but I guess having spent three years studying this he would.

I’ve been reading all the Facebook comments and have responded to a couple of Tweets, and based on your feedback we are making a couple of tweaks in the next week.

The less bold and the beautiful

Some of you are worried that now the fonts are so big, the busybody in the next cubicle will be able to see how much money you have in your account, so we will make the font smaller. We are also removing the boldness of the account descriptions. This will have the dual effect of allowing you to see more of your account nickname and more accounts per page.

One person provided feedback about having the FX rates at the bottom of every page. While this is not going away, we have added a link to make it easier to send money overseas or buy a travel money card (I personally just take cash and hammer my credit card).

Join the conversation

Hopefully you approve the new look NetBank as simpler to use. Thanks for all the feedback. Please continue to join in the conversation and let me know what you think…

http://twitter.com/yourhotcousin yourhotcousin

People generally do not like change, that is why you ease the process by introduce it over a period of time. This approach allows a user to warm up to new ideas and sample changes but stick with old features if they prefer. Facebook, Twitter, Google all do these things (they are not the first and will not be the last) and depending on the take up they respond.

It is not rocket science, the “big bang” approach never works well. These days no one is really a pioneer, someone has already done it, so look around and see how it has been done successfully before trying to reinvent the wheel.

Mr Unsworth, do you know what your statement should have read?

“Sorry, we will stop providing beer to the team during work hours. Everyone is sober now and we are going to make it right.”

It is too the point, your adding humor to ease an embarrassing situation and most importantly your acknowledging the customer (who if at the end of the day is not happy has been failed).

Excuses are like assholes. Everyone’s got one and they are all full of shit.
Anonymous

When I was “colonial’s” computer everything person, I made the impossible requests work. You have made the working ideas impossible

Agree that from an audit point, the large, bold fonts are terrible.

I used to have trouble with debits and credits until a lateral thought suggestion was made – “think of them as computer registers” – and away I went, happily writing many programs on a 16K machine. You have far more resources than I ever had, so why not use them and let your customers actually choose the front-end they prefer – Ransom note garble or old-school, it’s legible and “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”
Dave Pierce

I don’t mind the new look – but I’m thinking more features along the lines of labs will give more user value.

Notifications via email when certain events would be great – such as your pay arriving in your account. We get notified when we schedule transactions – why not when we receive one too? Rules could be simple, based on source, or value (eg: > $1000) or date. Simple email to notify it’s occured can be given, no details required just the name of the rule.
Dave Pierce

I think the new look is fine, but more “lab” features would be welcome.

I in particular would love to have a notification feature, which would email me when I receive a credit in my account – eg: my pay. Of course this is normally standardised, but sometimes you are expecting a transfer, but don’t really know when it is going to occur – just the value, or who it is from, or that it’ll happen between a set of dates.

A simple email with the name of the rule, similar to the “your scheduled transfer” emails, would notify you that you have received the amount, and you can go look. This notification scheme could be extended to any number of things other than just credits – and it wouldn’t have to be complicated to be useful.
Anonymous

I would just like to be able to do my online banking. Since the upgrade every time I log in I get a bizarre message saying I can’t use the Refresh, Back or Forward buttons . . . and so far have had no useful assistance from your support team via phone or email.

Hence I cannot comment on the new look, the boldness or the yellowness.

Signed,
An unhappy, but not surprised, customer.
- Anonymous
  
  Hi there, we’re sorry to here that you have not got the support you needed. Please do call us back and let the team troubleshoot for you again.
  - Anonymous
    
    I was all upset about your response above but before I could respond I received a call from one of your 10 Netbank technicians responding to my call of a week before. As your technicians only work office hours the lovely Sean organised to stay back so that I could get home from work and be at my pc.
    
    Although I have proved to be an odd case in that none of his tricks worked for IE9, I have an alternative browser that allows me to do my banking and he will get back to me via email if he gets some ideas from his colleagues.
    
    You are lucky to have people like Sean. Such a pity it is so hard to get to them.
  - Anonymous
    
    I get the “Don’t use Refresh, Back or Forward” message from time to time as well (even though I didn’t). But I SHOULD be able to use them. They’re fundamental navigation tools on the web and I’m sure there is no technical reason why they can’t be made to work. Yes, I know it’s EASIER for the programmers to disallow them (I’m a web developer myself), but for a company like CBA this is really not good enough. It’s #1 on the Top 10 Web Design Mistakes [http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990530.html] – that was in 1999. We’re in 2012. Stop changing the look and adding superficial features and make the core functionality work 99.99% of the time instead of 98% of the time. There is a big difference.
Anonymous

OMG – the only saving grace is that the rest of the pages are NOT changed…PLEASE don’t change them.

I am a designer – and your landing page is truly horrible! I have to think that it is a deficiency in my browser – I am am using Firefox latest. What possible reason could there be for having the cents in a different font size to the dollars????? Why are there little green plus and little red minus signs on balances? I am not stupid and you insult my intelligence by these signs.

I also think usability has been vastly compromised in that I now have to scroll down every time because your nav bar at the top is ridiculously heavy.

And to think I have in the past lauded Netbank as the best designed of the bank sites I have used….

Think again Netbank.
Anonymous

Hi Drew

My request is for a spot to pay my credit card which says “pay outstanding Balance” . When I go to pay my credit card, and select the account, it tells me how much credit I have, I want to know how much I have to pay. At the moment, I write it down. It would be easier if it were an option I could select.

Brian McGlynn
http://www.facebook.com/jess.coad.7 Jess Coad

Firstly, I really like the new changes. However I find it harder to read the numbers when they are different sizes for whole and decimal figures… It’s actually easier to read the account numbers than the balance simply due to the sizing of the numbers…
Anonymous

I have always thought the CBA netbanking site was excellent- very thoughtful and user friendly. I am sorry but I really dislike the varied fonts and bold/normal typeface variety on the new site- perhaps if people have poor sight there could be a way of increasing fonts on their own computer , but otherwise I would love to see the old version back – or even an ability to change fonts back Thanks Ann Parker
Anonymous

I absolutely loved using the old site- very intuitive and easy. I am sorry I do not like the varied font and bold numbers. Is there any way it could be a choice to have the initial font back ?Yours Ann Parker
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=756327011 Greg Sydney-Smith

I have a business account that requires two signatures. I can’t transfer money electronically without having a second signatory present and entering her details for a (each?) transfer.

Given that we aren’t in the same physical location this isn’t working for us. There didn’t seem to be an option to save the transfer or send it to someone to “countersign”.

Have I missed something, or do I need to loosen up security and change the account to “any one person to sign”?
Anonymous

The hide accounts feature seems to be broken at least in firefox on windows – it takes many attempts before the tick is actually remembered and acted upon after clicking save changes – used to work fine
Anonymous

Unrelated to the new look, but I have two suggestions for online statements.

1) Change the filename from StatementDDMMYYY.pdf to StatementYYYYMMDD.pdf. That would mean that when the files are shown in alphabetical order they’re also in chronological order, so it’s easy to find the one you want and to see if you’re missing any. Even better: Statement_YYYY-MM-DD.pdf (easier to separate the digits and read the date at a glance).
2) Add a button to download all available statements for an account, ideally as a ZIP file, but at least without having to individually click each statement link.
- http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1644146525 Tony Lorimer
  
  In addition to emp0 response please make the link “View Statement” in the bank e-mail actually go and download the statement. At present when you click on the “View Statement” in the e-mail it just takes you to the statement page and you have to remember which account it is
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=686987876 Phil Jack

No big deal but I might as well tell you. Term deposit renewal. This time I thought I’d give the online a go since I can wait till the due day and check the options (term and terms) which otherwise one has to ask 132221 for when renewing. I completed the new election and got a funny “Sorry one of the enties is wrong – you can’t use a termination date unless it is between (the actual dates I don’t recall)25/06/2013 and 09/02/2016″ So I abandoned the online and called 132221. The first helper referred me to another who admitted, sensibly, that she didn’t know and we implimented the renewal in the well known way.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1668251619 Tammy Pope

I definatley do not like the new view of the netbank. Even to print off now is horrible, I printed a page off and it is in a very big font and then it throws the CBA logo half way down the page and then you have to go back to your transactions to see what it has wiped out! It also prints on two or three pages instead of only one as it used too. I don’t understand why you have gone and changed it when it was perfectly fine.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1789112046 Kaylene Kelleher

The ANZ online banking is working just fine….Commonwealth bank , however is not loading at all. I cannot do my banking. It is wasting my time. It is all the crap you have going on on your page.
NOT NECESSARY!
AND also, I hate the online banking changes. It was great before, bow you have to try to FIND where your account is. It is total rubbish. Why did you change it. Please put it back the way it was. And fix the online banking so that it works. PLEEEEAASE!!!
Anonymous

Two improvements please – make finding a past transaction easier and provide a summary of transactions across accounts for a nominated period the financial year for example.
Anonymous

Two improvements please – make it easier to locate past transactions and provide a summary of transactions over accounts and a given time period for example a financial year.
Anonymous

For the love of God! hurry up and put the numerals all back to the same pt. and smaller, just that alone is enough to make me change banks after 25yrs. i no longer enjoy signing in to see how my savings are and shuffle things between acc. ~ is it just me or do the different sized numerals seem to behave like an optical illusion~ makes me feel ill veiwing the page.
Anonymous

I don’t like the new layout the old one was fine and I never print receipts I just copy them and paste them into excel but it is a hassel as they have returned to the old layout so when you paste it leaves all these blank lines in between each scetion. Also i wish with credit cards they would put the day your credit card is due to close.
http://www.facebook.com/jaay.rowland Jay Rowland

Can I just say what an outstanding job in regards to the change to CBA Netbank. Its fresh, easy to use and the design is awesome. I know you still have a few more changes to implement and action but what you have so far is a great indication of how great the end product will be. Thumbs up to your Ecommerce Dept! : ) – J
http://twitter.com/mikek3332002 mikek3332002

The big thing I’ve found lacking in netbank, is when you are using the mobile site for doing transfers you can’t put a different to/from(description) label. Which would be useful when you are transferring money to a third party(eg paying bill via transfer you’ll want the bill name on yours, whereas destination description being customer name[you])

The new desktop interface I don’t really have an opinion on.
Anonymous

What happened to the autocomplete funtionality? – saves typos and time when you often pay the same people on a regular basis
David Tran

From a technical perspective, the bank needs to implement a cascading style sheet (CSS) that is designed to make the pages printer-friendly.
http://www.facebook.com/drew.unsworth.3 Drew Unsworth

Hi Brian..

That is just a few weeks away with the changes we are making..
http://profile.yahoo.com/FC4NT4733OZNCPU5RRZZXGXZI4 Peter

I would like to request two step authentication for an extra layer of security. Every time someone wants to log in, a security code would be sent to his/her mobile, which has to be entered along with the password. Of course this will be optional, people who do not want this feature can opt not to use it. Paypal has similar authentication mechanism.
David Abbott

I’d like the password for NetBank to be sensitive to both UPPER and lower case letters.
http://www.facebook.com/marius.webb.16 Marius Webb

The new look is appalling, childish and silly. If you seriously think most people don’t know the difference between the words credit and debit you should stop mixing with 8 year olds. It is rubbish, it is flatulent and it is vulgar. It is obviously designed for iPhones which is great for those who use that format but many of us like to have a simple visual hold on our transactions and your new format destroys this. Just take account of the comments below, and frankly we don’t care what you do when you take off overseas you overpaid prat. But thanks for listening. Marius Webb
- Anonymous
  
  Hi Marius, we have had a great deal of mixed sentiment about the new look. It’s true many of the comments on the blog are negative and on our channels we have had both good and bad feedback. We pay attention to all of it. So thank you for yours.
Anonymous

Yes Greg you are correct, there is no option on NetBank for another party to authorise a transaction at a later date. Both signatories would need to be in the same location at the same time to complete a payment. Changing the method of operation to ‘one to sign/either to operate’ would resolve the issue however that may not be appropriate in every instance.
CommBiz does offer more advanced functionality around user permissions and payment authorisations.

http://www.commbank.com.au/business/online-business-services/online-business-services-comparison/default.aspx
- http://www.facebook.com/kaye.irving.12 Kaye Irving
  
  I like the “CAN” marketing. But marketeers please make sure the back room is up with the advertising.i.e. Help your customers, not just market a brand, be real, the bank that CAN help people who are now in stress – think GOOD – and your customers will respond. It will pay you more than any marketing campaign will.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Marcus-Bell/1607140569 Marcus Bell

“…we will make the font smaller. We are also removing the boldness…”
Complete bunkum. Account names and balances are now displayed in 18pt BOLD. Why don’t you just go and broadcast my financial details on the nearest billboard while you’re at it?
Disaster.
Anonymous

I don’t actually mind the new site, categorising my spending (though I keep parallel records in Excel) is fascinating and I have got the hang of it now although initially was not impressed. However, despite having “learnt” not to use the back button (why) I frequently get a message to this fact and cannot get the page I wanted, even though I DID NOT USE the back button. This is confusing.
http://www.facebook.com/dwightwalker Dwight Walker

I am glad the font is smaller as before it rubbed my nose in my financial position and made me down.
http://www.facebook.com/dwightwalker Dwight Walker

I am glad you made the font smaller. I don’t like my financial position being rubbed in my face by big fonts.
Anonymous

Hi Rosanne, we are not aware of consistent problems, if you are still having issues and want to let us know we can have someone call you.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1794888560 Jeanee Delden

Hate the netbank changes, as far as I can see more negatvie than positive comments, so don’t really know if you are listening to customers.

I have tried to persevere, but will be looking into moving all accounts to another bank.
http://www.facebook.com/catherine.hope.16 Catherine Hope

Bottom line is that people HATE the mixed font sizes and bold. Also, MOST people actually do want to see their debits and credits in different columns. They don’t care what they’re called, but they want to see clearly what’s gone in and what’s gone out without having to filter through non-aligned + and – values in the same column CBA. You are treating customers like primary school children who have never done banking before.
Anonymous

My motto is . If it aint broken don;t fix it. This is the worst format so far. Go back one or two home pages, because they where easy to use and easy on your eyes. Don’t like the debits and credits under each other. Still unable to copy and paste home page, I have to use another program for that. This format takes more time to copy and paste on to excel.
http://www.facebook.com/catherine.hope.16 Catherine Hope

How about a simple survey on login to netbank?
A. Do you want Debit and Credit columns available on the PC interface?
B. Do you want Cents the Same font size as Dollars ?
C. ???
Anonymous

Everything about your bank is horrible. Your online banking is horrible to use and the help you provide is truly appalling. I am now in the process of moving to a credit union and never ever ever ever ever going near your bank again.
Anonymous

REGARDING NEW DISPAY – & +

I AM BAFFLED HOW DREW UNSWORTH THINKS THIS IS AN IMPROVEMENT !!!! THE – & + DISPLAY IS CONFUSING AND DIFFICULY TO IDENTIFY AND ISOLATE TRANSACTIONS,

PLEASE BRING A CHOICE WHERE MEMBERS CAN CHOOSE WHICH DISPLAY THEY PREFER
DR & CR OR – & +

YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO YOUR ACCOUNTANT FRIEND AS HE DEALS WITH REAL PEOPLE WITH REAL PROBLEMS

JOHN TOTIKIDIS
Anonymous

Hi Tony, thank you for providing us with this feedback. We’ll be sure to pass it on to the NetBank team for their consideration.
Anonymous

Hi there, we’re sorry to hear that you’re unhappy with our services and would love to help you out if possible. Please give us a call on 13 2221 at any time and we’ll do our best to work towards a solution for you. Thanks.
JennyHenderson

I find it completely unsatisfactory not to have a debit and credit column for account transactions. Please, please change it back. You need to be able to see at a glance money in and money out. +- is not sufficient and has really “dumbed down” the netbank experience. After all these years I can’t believe you would change this feature. I agree with the comment below it is an insult to our intelligence.
CommonwealthBank

Hi Jenny, thanks for the comment. We’re sorry to hear that you’re not a fan of our new NetBank interface. The single column is consistent with our tablet, Chrome and mobile NetBank versions and we created specific search options to make it even easier for our customers to find debit and credit transactions. If you have any specific questions you’d like help answering, we’d be happy to assist you. Thanks.
joshby

I love the new features. So much easier to use. Don’t listen to the snobs who think they are being talked down to! Maybe there are more improvements but I think your new look is better that the previous one – including the red & green + & -
CommonwealthBank

Thanks Joshby. Glad you’re enjoying it.

About the author

Drew Unsworth

General Manager Online Banking

Drew is the General Manager, Online Banking and his role is to make sure every customer can have a safe banking experience on the device of their choice whether that is a PC, phone or tablet. He’s really interested in finding out what customers want and making sure they get it; whether that’s around design, features, security or just making everyday banking easier to do. Having joined the bank over 30 years ago, he has a comprehensive understanding on how banking works and has played an integral role in shaping the modern Australian banking system in Australia's leading bank. He’s been working in online since the days before the internet and is a passionate early adopter.