Online banking customers for one major High Street bank have begun to complain of its new secure authentication keys tied to their accounts, calling them a hassle.
Banking giant HSBC began sending the keys with the hopes that its four million online banking customers would benefit from the added layer of security. However, many customers are unhappy with the decision as they say it makes managing their internet savings accounts slower and more inconvenient.
The personal and business bank account provider aims to equip every single one of its online customers with the new device before the beginning of 2012, sources say. Resembling a small calculator, the battery-operated device is unattached to the computer and utilises a unique algorithm to generate a new passcode for the customer every time they wish to log on to their account from work or home.
The bank’s systems have an identical algorithm which runs at the time the customer wishes to log in. If certain parameters of each code match, the system will permit the user to log on as they would prior to the authentication key with their static password, said one bank spokesperson.
The additional layer of security makes online banking much more secure, the spokesperson added, pointing out that it makes it much more difficult for hackers to breach an account’s security if a portion of the data is generated at the time of log on by the authentication device. Once customers receive the device, they have one month to register it in order to begin using it to access their banking information.