Products · Broad category
Banks
Raised as a usability problem by 76 people on Hacker News over 16 years (2011–2026), in 75 threads.
This is a broad category rather than one product, so its issues aren't ranked on the home page.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Undocumented bank ledgers are impossible for customers to understandUnreviewed
20112026- Banks use dark patterns that push customers into deals they may not understand2024-08-16
- Bank ledgers are so counter-intuitive and undocumented that customers can't make sense of them2023-11-07
- Anything slightly beyond routine banking tasks exposes clunky legacy behaviour2022-03-12
Switching banks is hard due to fees and account detailsUnreviewed
20112026- Switching banks is hard because fees and account details make moving difficult2023-11-07
- Bank transfers are cumbersome, slow and costly due to checks2019-11-04
- Setting up transfers to other banks took almost an hour due to confusing UI and naming2015-01-27
Can't receive SMS codes abroad, blocking online banking transfersUnreviewed
20112026- Banks reject European phone numbers and send PIN codes that fail abroad2023-04-02
- Forced SMS codes at every login, and one bank locked the user out since SMS would not send2017-05-04
- Can't receive SMS codes abroad, so can't complete online banking transfers2016-06-09
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Logging into the bank account in a mobile browser to see a declined card reason is clunky2026-08-28
- Must log into a portal to submit documents and read case updates instead of email2026-06-12
- Opening a separate brokerage account requires paperwork, back-and-forth, and a different login for transfers2026-03-06
- Hard to pick out the right bill quickly since notes look alike by size and colour2025-11-12
- Security module makes the computer unusably slow when logging into bank2025-10-13
- Security module makes the computer unusably slow by intercepting every network connection2025-10-13
- Page script blocks text selection, right-clicking and view-source shortcuts2025-09-14
- Opting into useful bank alerts also opts users into useless sales texts2025-08-28
- Login bug went unfixed for months, leaving the user unable to sign in reliably2025-08-27
- Vague descriptions like AMZN1234 make categorizing purchases tedious2025-03-16
- Official phone line takes hours of being passed between departments to verify a fraud alert2024-12-20
- Bank transaction descriptions are too vague to tell what the transaction was for2024-09-16
- Bank descriptions are random short codes, so transactions need manual review2024-09-16
- Banks use dark patterns that push customers into deals they may not understand2024-08-16
- Form only works in Chromium; JavaScript breaks it in Firefox2023-12-05
- Switching banks is hard because fees and account details make moving difficult2023-11-07
- Bank ledgers are so counter-intuitive and undocumented that customers can't make sense of them2023-11-07
- Impossible to reach a specific person; waited over twenty minutes on hold2023-11-06
- Bank websites and apps have terrible UX and are confusing to use2023-11-01
- Bank makes user click through many steps to download each account file2023-10-20
- Hard to opt out of overdraft programs; staff don't understand the request2023-10-10
- Auto-pay limit actually cancels autopay when balance exceeds limit, and the warning is easy to miss2023-10-09
- Bank rejects joint account with separate names unless records are unified2023-08-31
- Long phone waits and inconsistent proof-of-power-of-attorney requirements2023-08-26
- Banking features and iPad access are blocked unless using the one configured phone with the app2023-08-08
- Layout is cut off on Android Firefox and filters can't be confirmed2023-04-20
- Banks reject European phone numbers and send PIN codes that fail abroad2023-04-02
- Card replacement doesn't update recurring merchants automatically, forcing manual updates everywhere2023-03-23
- Must install intrusive security software just to log into bank website2023-01-25
- Transaction notification feature is annoying to set up2022-06-26
- Elderly customers forced to use a mobile app for transfers they could previously do in branch2022-05-07
- Extra mortgage payments get applied to next scheduled payment, requiring paper invoices that often fail2022-04-21
- Anything slightly beyond routine banking tasks exposes clunky legacy behaviour2022-03-12
- Branch staff send customers through petty bureaucracy, costing hundreds and weeks for statement printing2022-03-12
- Repeated authentication prompts, eight times within ten minutes, with no apparent purpose2022-02-16
- Wrong recipients keep getting alerts and can't stop them, because unsubscribing offers no way to report the error2022-02-05
- Traditional banks are slow, ugly and borderline unusable to use2022-01-11
- Security module slows down computers and blocks password manager autofill2021-11-17
- Slow IT systems forced staff to plan conversations around waiting for information2021-08-21
- Can't reverse a pending transaction; must wait until it posts before filing a chargeback2021-07-09
- Email can only be changed by phone, and reps refuse to fix the mismatched old system2021-03-12
- Generic "important message" subject lines make real notices look like spam and get lost2021-02-17
- Platform is sluggish, dated and ugly, so the user avoids trading2021-02-04
- Must walk outside for signal to receive the text code for every online purchase2020-09-08
- Banking data only available as PDFs or unpredictable web UI, hard to consume2020-08-10
- Bank debit and credit labels are reversed from the user's perspective, forcing unlearning2020-07-28
- Bank transfers are cumbersome, slow and costly due to checks2019-11-04
- Bank blocks medium-sized debit card transactions until customer phones them in advance2019-09-20
- Sites block the user's browser despite it supporting the feature, forcing a switch2019-08-22
- Banks offer little help securing logins; security steps hurt usability2019-04-01