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Why don't banks make your transactions searchable?

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    Why don't banks make your transactions searchable?

    I've never understood why (virtually) all banks make searching your transactions and statements online so difficult. Depending which account I use, I might be able to search on amount or I might have to separately download every statement as a PDF rather than view it on the screen.

    Why on earth can't I view any of my transactions on the screen, do basic text searching on reference/payee/etc?

    People here work in this sector so is it a question of compliance/data protection, or of extreme conservatism to make any changes, or something else? It's typically the sort of thing online services do so they can sell you the decent features on top, but I'm not aware that's the case.

    Of course in something like FreeAgent you can search the imported feed entries, but that is just my business accounts. I have several personal accounts and they are varied in how they let me access the data, but uniformly bad at it.

    For instance I want to check when I paid HMRC last year. Should take 2s.
    Originally posted by MaryPoppins
    I'd still not breastfeed a nazi
    Originally posted by vetran
    Urine is quite nourishing

    #2
    I am with LLoyds and can do this. I thought all banks would?

    Comment


      #3
      All of my online banking applications do this.
      Down with racism. Long live miscegenation!

      Comment


        #4
        Mine all do this


        Sent from my iPhone using Contractor UK Forum

        Comment


          #5
          some banks do.
          the ones that don't have not implemented it because there's insufficient demand.
          But you know the answer already. You're just moaning about your bank.

          Move this to general where it can get the treatment???
          See You Next Tuesday

          Comment


            #6
            I use MoneyHub to aggregate about a dozen accounts (current, savings and CCs) between myself and the missus. Works a threat.

            Comment


              #7
              I haven't noticed this facility with HSBC. I'd only use it periodically so it's not a big deal.

              Comment


                #8
                Hmm, I have personal and business accounts with both HSBC and Santander as well as personal with 1st Direct. I've never found a way to do it on any of them although they have all done big face-lifts recently.

                Anyone using these able to confirm if it's user error on my part? There's also the limit on some will show you recent transactions then force you to delve into statements, others will let you see transactions for a much longer period.

                I think 1st was the worst when I was doing accounts the other day... not only did I have to download a statement then open it to see it, each time I had to go back to the statement list and get the next one - no "previous/next" buttons I could spot.

                But other things like find all payments to/from the same account. Set up a standing order to someone you already paid manually without re-typing in all the details. Maybe banks are so fearful of introducing a bug they don't make any changes at all if they can avoid it
                Originally posted by MaryPoppins
                I'd still not breastfeed a nazi
                Originally posted by vetran
                Urine is quite nourishing

                Comment


                  #9
                  Can I pull my personal accounts into FreeAgent without confusing everything?
                  Originally posted by MaryPoppins
                  I'd still not breastfeed a nazi
                  Originally posted by vetran
                  Urine is quite nourishing

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by d000hg View Post
                    Can I pull my personal accounts into FreeAgent without confusing everything?
                    You'd have to code the transactions somewhere and that would hit your financial statements if you're not very careful. It could also look a bit dodgy if anyone were to go through your transactions, even if it were all legit.

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