SECU review: Some suggestions for improvement of new software

My feedback to SECU … (using Windows desktop) … (screenshots were not accepted in the comments below)

BILLPAY
New BILLPAY has many problems. I have gone back to handwritten paper checks. I really liked the old billpay, but the new version does not work for me. There is no way for a user to find out when a billpay check clears the bank. So users can not verify that a billpay check has actually been cashed by a payee. This information is often useful in dealing with a payee. Billpay does not allow a user to specify a mailing date for paper checks. Instead billpay estimates delivery time and depends on USPS to deliver checks on time. But some areas have much longer delivery times than others. Billpay should allow user to specify a mailing date. Default account for billpay can not be changed by user. The previous system warned users when they did not select a payee. Now, if the user forgets to change payee from default to the desired account each time a payment is sched uled, bills will be paid from the wrong account. Make the default payee user zelectable, or better still, just don’t have a default – just give a pull-down menu like the TRANSFERS section.

TRANSFERS
If the name of the account (to or from) is long (user nickname, etc), the balance does not show. The amount is more important than the nickname. Show the account and the amount, which is the important info for the user, in separate boxes. Or better still, put it in a concise table..

Also, a lot of the information in TRANSFERS is presented in a half-gray font that's very difficult to read for folks with even slightly impaired vision (cataracts, WMD, etc). Use a better font, or let the user set the default font for the entire site. This half-grey font serves no functional purpose. It's just an aesthetic effect that is difficult for many users to read.

The entire transfer process is spread out over too much screen space, and requires excessive scrolling and navigation to see all the info. Eliminate all the wasted space and make the presentation more concise.

To see documentation regarding a funds transfer TO an account, there is no indication of what account the funds were transferred FROM.

ACCOUNTS
Under account overview > manage account …
for checking accounts the options presented on the screen are …
1) “Digital banking”, “Financial Wellness”, “Manage Cards”, “Order Checks”, “Overdraft Service”
2) Account Product, Last Update, Interest, Overdraft info, etc are on a scroll down page

The account info should be presented first, then Order Checks, Financial Wellness, etc. In account maintenance how often does a user want to order checks? This makes for a lot of needless scrolling. The image on the left below is what the user sees, but hidden from the user (with no indication to scroll down) is the info on the right.

GENERAL
Data previously presented in concise tables are now separated in different pages of the website. This requires unnecessary scrolling and navigation. Example: I have several CD’s that renew at different times. I renew some every 6 months. These renewals are based on current interest rate – term and amounts. Previously these were listed in one table, but now each is in a separate sub-page. So, to plan a renewal strategy, users must navigate to each of the CD account pages and manually write down the acct number, amount and maturity date, then use that list to plan renewals. That’s just one example of the many data tables have been separated and scattered all around the website. Another example is the table that gave the status of all billpay checks. Now, seeing billbay check status requires navigating around to account and payee pages.

Many pages (in manage accounts) present data with the word DONE in the lower right corner. Often there are more data that require scrolling down to be seen, but there is no notice of the presence of those additional data. Example: In the account page, if an account is selected. For Example … from Accounts>account management. Left is what a user sees, but right is what a user sees after scrolling down. The first screen should tell the user to scroll down for more, not just say “DONE”. Or better still, present the data in a concise table, not a spread-out narrative.

During the login process and verification by the Procrustean two-step verification, the cursor is not positioned in the correct position for user code data entry. The above are a few of the problems

I have encountered as a user. It seems to me that the old system was more concise and much simpler to use. I think SECU made a big mistake in designing, writing and promulgating this software.

This software requires a lot of navigation, but the navigation prompts are inconsistent in wording and location. Different prompts, different locations, etc makes navigation more difficult AND this new software requires A LOT more navigation than previous. Examples …
Page Return to previous page
==========================================================
Account summary > account “< Back” at top left of screen
… > Manage accounts “DONE” at bottom of screen (not page) or “X” at top right
“DONE” is not at bottom of page as there may or may not be more
hidden data below “DONE” depending on user’s font size selection.
“DONE” Prompt relocates itself when user scrolls
…>view statements “pay bills>details “CLOSE X” at top right of screen
TRANSFER “DONE” at bottom of page – may not be visible on users screen
User must scroll down, but no indication of the need to scroll
DONE returns to TRANSFER SCREEN
User must select top menu ACCOUNTS to exit from TRANSFER

Under TRANSFERS there’s a drop down menu of accounts, but not so in BILLPAY, which is set to a default account (default account is not user selectable).