Banking online is a brilliant idea. We do it all the time because it gives us ready access to our American accounts. We even have an account at a bank we’ve never been to in person.
But it has its drawbacks. My banker is a web page (well, a whole bunch of web pages). And my banker is irritating me. I can’t open a new account or a CD online because I don’t have an American address—I can’t choose a state from the pull-down menu and my Japanese postal code is 7 digits long—nor do I have a driver’s license. Yet I already have accounts at this bank. Opening another one shouldn’t be a problem.
I pointed this out to them in a letter and they replied with a form letter that doesn’t address my problem. Argh! Customer Dis-Service strikes again. Now it’s time for another round of letter writing and then perhaps a change of banks.
Posted by kuri at November 26, 2000 08:46 AM
I opened an account with Shinsei. The paperwork was a fraction of Shittybank’s and they actually asked me how I wanted my official signature instead of telling me I had to bring some stupid hanko. Also, if you are American, Shittybank demands to know your SSN or they will deduct 20% of interest earned on the account automatically, Bank Gestapos.
