Anti-patterns for the financial services industry

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"In software engineering, an anti-pattern (or antipattern) is a pattern used in social or business operations or software engineering that may be commonly used but is ineffective and/or counterproductive in practice." -- Wikipedia

I've been a CommSec customer for ~12 years now. For the most part they are a decent broker -- reasonable brokerage and a service that largely Just Works. A recent change led to the discovery of some peculiarities of their operations that led to this post.

The story begins in 2001 when I signed up for CommSec and they offered (and still offer) a discounted brokerage rate for clients who also opened a Direct Investment Account (CDIA). This was a transaction account offering ATM access + interest rates somewhere between the typical transaction account (zero interest) and a savings account (high interest).

All was good until 2008 when they started advertising a new CommSec Cash Management product comprised of two new accounts -- the CommSec Cash Account (CCA) and the CommSec Investment Account (CIA). I had a brief look at these products but they offered nothing of value except more hassle - instead of one account I would have two!

In 2009 CommSec advised that they were discontinuing the CDIA and to continue receiving the preferred Internet brokerage rate I'd have to sign up for a CCA + CIA. Great, whatever. I signed up like a good little lamby, no dramas except now I had two more sets of BSB & Account Numbers to manage.

Shortly after I went into a CommBank branch to bank a dividend cheque (this was 2009, and actually in 2013 there are still companies that send out cheques). I was told that as the new CCA is a CommSec product CommBank branches don't handle any of their transactions. That's really great as a CommSec customer -- I've been forced off an old product onto a new, lesser product.

Anti-pattern #1 - force your customers onto new, shittier products

Of course, the bank accounts were never an appealing part of CommSec's service, I only got one because it gave me better brokerage rates.

On to 13th December 2012, I received this email:

DAFUQ YO! I seriously double checked the date to make sure it wasn't a repost from 2001.

So let me get this straight. In 2009 CommSec forced all of their existing CDIA holders onto their new CCA+CIA package. Just 4 years later they force those customers back onto a "new" CDIA which is exactly the firetruckin' same as the product in 2009. DAFUQ YO!

CommSec Product Management

But that isn't Anti-pattern #2, no-ho-ho!

Anti-pattern #2 - force your clients to change BSB & Account numbers not once, but twice, in 4 years.

I don't pretend to understand how BSB numbers work but the one thing I do know as ordinary Joe Consumer is that whole banks have been traded without a single one of their customers needing to change account details. Hey CommBank -- you guys even did it with BankWest, how about doing the same magic for your loyal CommSec customers?

Changing BSB & Account numbers is annoying because as a public company shareholder you then need to update those details with various share registrars... which leads us to anti-pattern #3 and #4.

Armed with my new CDIA details I went to Computershare and in a single online form submission I updated my payment details for ~12 holdings. That's awesome and how it should be done.

Anti-pattern #3 is brought to you by Link Market Services.

Translation:

We kinda don't trust our website. We think it's less secure than you hand writing a signature onto some dead wood pulp and sending it to us via the post because we trust all of those intermediaries much more than we do our own website security

Anti-pattern #3 - tell your clients that you don't trust your own website security enough to let them transact online

Last but not least, we return to CommSec for Anti-pattern #4.

I thought that if CommSec is going to force all of their customers to change account details the least they could do is update their own systems to use the new account details. That was too much to ask.

I have a Margin Loan with CommSec which needs to be linked to a transaction account for topups/withdrawals. It is currently linked to my non-existent CCA and should be linked to my new CDIA. It's not.

I emailed CommSec to ask if/when this change would/should occur and received the following:

Thank you for your enquiry regarding our new CDIA account. My name is Louise, and your service specialist.


Yes, we will most certainly have linked your new CDIA to your Margin Loan for future settlements

I hope this information has been helpful. If you have any further questions, please reply to this email and I will be happy to further assist.

DAFUQ YO. Do you think I am emailing you for my entertainment? It's clearly not the case and if you'd taken the 5 seconds to look at my account you would know that.

Anti-pattern #4 - employ customer service representatives who prefer not to operate on facts

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About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by goosmurf published on January 29, 2013 7:11 PM.

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