How does the people in the bank think. After spending some hours helping my daughter trying to install the internetbank on her computer, I realize that the large swedish banks have a problem. With the netgeneration, used to buy things with one click, the bank has an obvious problem with their security minded way of thinking.
Of course - we must have secure banking solutions - but now it seems that security has been the main focus and usability a "non issue" for the IT-department. If you don't beleive me, try to open a bank account to one of your teenagers. This will happen: At first you need to show up at the bank office during opening hours. Not only you, both parents and your teenager. At the same time. After filling in the forms you will go home. And then you wait.
After some days the ATM-card will come in the mailbox and after a few days more the code that you need for your card. Then the proceedure for installing the internetbank starts. First you need to install the security program. After about 8 steps in the install process we finally managed to get the program started. Then you need to confirm your account, another 7 steps. After all this, I helped my daughter via my mobile, it still didn't work. I was calm but my daughter wasn't. She was looking forward to use her new ATM-card and needed to activate it via the Internetbank.
So daddy had to hurry home, just to discover that we had to restart the computer in order to get started. And where in the instructions could we read that. Nowhere!
As a person working in the ICT-industry for over 15 years, I fully understand that we need to have secure solutions for our financial banking solutions. The problem is, with new generations used to easy access via the web, I don't think that the coming customers to the large swedish banks and financial institutes will accept hourly excercises to became customers.
The netgeneration is used to buy things with one click. Those banks who understand that and makes it easy for the teenagers to become customers, will have a great advantage on the future markets. Security is good, usable security is better.