Intesa Sanpaolo Internet Banking’s Catch 22

It might happens for some odd and unpredictable reason (at least from the user perspective) that the Internet Banking stops granting you access to your account (incorrect userid or password, they say.) Then you have to call customer assistance by phone, and the automated system, before allowing to talk to a human being, asks for your userid, password and one-time-password.

But that information are incorrect (in fact you have no longer access to your account), and you can’t talk to anybody to fix the problem unless you have a working userid and password (that you have not). You just need to wait, and at the end of the day some human being will answer your call.

It would be better to answer first, isnt’it?

Intesa Sanpaolo: when marketing meets security

Recently Intesa Sanpaolo (born after a merge between Banca Intesa e Istituto San Paolo) moved its Internet banking authentication system from a password-based to a one-time-password-based access.

They sell that “innovation” – ever happens in the ICT business – as a major increase in IT security and then as a benefit for the customer, but if you think for a while this is not entirely true. Or – better – this might be true from the perspective of a marketing manager. But it is not from the customer standpoint.

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Data Protection Authority, Fastweb marketing strategies and the User (me)

Despite I made absolutely clear that I didn’t want to be disturbed, yesterday I got again – for the third or fourth time – a phone call from a person posing as Fastweb (an Italian Telco) representative trying to sell Internet access services.

After being (fairly) rude with the operator, I’ve sent the Data Protection Authority a fax complaining about this blatant infringement of personal data handling.

I’m curious – and eager – to know whether the Authority will adopt any action, or leave this Telco maverick continue working undisturbed.