According to data from Forrester Research, Barclays topped 2013 rankings with an overall score of 66 out of 100. The bank’s secure website was strong across a range of categories, particularly when it comes to account management, money movement, security and login, and electronic delivery.
The survey also mentions that the UK’s banks performed well, combining effective security with usability, but Barclays stands out by offering some new features including a digital vault/cloud IT option for banking.
Banks should also require additional authentication for key tasks, like adding a payee or executing a transfer – simply put, additional security steps both reassure customers and reduce fraud. Barclays has implemented two-factor authentication via a mobile device. Santander, meanwhile, offers dynamically generated, one-time passcodes for additional authentication.
When it comes to overall functionality, the report unveils that UK bank websites perform well on money movement and electronic statements in particular. Lloyds Bank was second after Barclays with an overall score of 61. Santander was close behind Lloyds with an overall score of 60, with particular strengths around cross-selling and a range of transaction and balance alerts.
The majority of UK adults (64%) now bank online, whether that’s viewing a balance, paying a bill or transferring money online. In light of this, the research company set out to find out how functional banks’ secure websites really are, analyzing Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest, Santander and the Cooperative Bank, across more than 50 criteria. Benchmark areas included account management, security and login, money management, money movement, cross-selling, self-service features, assisted-service features, alerts and electronic delivery.
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