6 ms·

Bank of America website disrupted for 4th day in a row

51 points by chailatte 15y ago

feydr 15y ago
FYI: I don't know where their mobile app is pointing too but it works perfectly fine
- pavel_lishin 15y ago
  For me, it's always been incredibly slow, and stateless - e.g., if I use it to find a nearby ATM, and switch over to the Google Maps app, and go back to the BoA app - it forces me to start all over - it takes about 3 minutes for it to finally find an ATM near me. I've given up and just started searching for 'bank of america' in the Maps app. (iPhone app, 3gs.)
  - onedognight 15y ago
    > if I use it to find a nearby ATM, and switch over to the Google Maps app, and go back to the BoA app - it forces me to start all over They fixed this is the latest release. It now will keep you logged in as long as the app hasn't been kicked out of memory (which is not up to them). On a 3GS that might be sooner than you'd like, but has been working for me on my 4.
saucetenuto 15y ago
> Friday's disruption came the same day that BofA said it would begin charging customers $5 per month for purchases billed to their debit card. Does anyone have more details on this? The units don't seem to match in "per month for purchases" - like, $5 per purchase? $5 a month? $5 a month, but only on months in which you make at least one purchase? And for heaven's sake, why?
- bingaman 15y ago
  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/business/banks-to-make-customers-pay-debit-card-fee.html http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/business/banks-to-make-cus... Because fuck you, that's why.
  - neilc 15y ago
    > Because fuck you, that's why. No: The round of new charges stems from a rule, which takes effect on Saturday, that limits the fees that banks can levy on merchants every time a consumer uses a debit card to make a purchase. Given the low rate of fraud on debit card purchases, banks were previously making a killing on from debit card fees; with those fees reduced, they need to find an alternative revenue stream. US banks aren't exactly doing well these days, so their need to replace that revenue with something else is understandable.
    - pavel_lishin 15y ago
      Sure, just like a lion's need to eat zebras is understandable. But the zebra is still going to be pissed, and will probably switch to another bank or credit union.
      - hugh3 15y ago
        And the zebra won't miss it at all, because the zebra wasn't making the lion any money. This metaphor is severely broken at this point, but you get the idea.
        Florin_Andrei 15y ago
        You folks are so blindly enamored with the "free market" that you'll keep singing them praises even as they go about skinning you alive. Pavlov would be proud.
        Jach 15y ago
        I don't consider myself a heavy supporter of traditional free market idealism, but it's clear to me that the credit and banking industry has long been in bed with the government. The government says X so company does Y, the government says don't do Y so company does Z, and they're all probably winking and nodding behind closed doors. With a government separated from such industries, I believe we'd actually have some decent choices instead of "Visa or MasterCard?" and "BoA or Wells Fargo?" (Of course there are credit unions but they're only bandaids.) I don't know of anyone who supports free market ideals saying you should let sociopaths skin you alive, let alone singing praise. Some of the meaner people in the crowd do say "let the stupid people be exploited, it's their own fault if they don't realize they're being skinned and their stupidity keeps these things in power." I don't particularly agree with that sentiment, though it is rooted in another one: if customers are truly pissed, they'll go somewhere else [in the absence of government/monopolistic forces preventing them from doing so].
- hugh3 15y ago
  Five dollars a month, for any month in which you use your debit card for purchases. As for the "why", the immediate reason is because there have been some legal changes vis a vis how much they can charge to the merchant for the benefit of running this transaction. More generally, because they want to incentivize people to use their credit cards instead of debit cards. And for those who can't or don't want to get credit cards -- to incentivize them to take their business elsewhere, because the bank really doesn't make any money off people who just have checking accounts. Checking accounts are merely a gateway drug to more expensive banking products. Doesn't bother me, I get 1% cash back on my credit card and am not dumb enough to spend more than I earn on it, so I already have no incentive to use my debit card for purchases.
  - pavel_lishin 15y ago
    I'm annoyed at this, but I probably won't switch. I rarely use my debit card to make purchases, since I have a BoA credit card with reward points - and I've heard that debit card fraud is more difficult to combat. Do most people shop with their debit card?
    - click170 15y ago
      In Canada we do. I think the reliance on credit cards is largely an American phenomenon.
      - mahyarm 15y ago
        In Canada, people don't use Visa or Mastercard Debit cards. They use Interac, a Canadian financial network that only charges a flat fee of ~0.25 per debit card transaction. You can't use them for online purchasing although. Most Canadian's are surprised when you can use a debit card like a credit card for online purchases.
        msbarnett 15y ago
        The phrasing of your last two sentences is unclear, but to clarify for those reading, you can indeed use Interac debit cards for online payments.
myth_drannon 15y ago
First bank e-run ?
lsc 15y ago
oh man. so they use he.net, too? (I kid, but it's been a pretty horrible week for DoS attacks there, too.)

51 points by chailatte 15y ago

feydr 15y ago

FYI: I don't know where their mobile app is pointing too but it works perfectly fine

pavel_lishin 15y ago
For me, it's always been incredibly slow, and stateless - e.g., if I use it to find a nearby ATM, and switch over to the Google Maps app, and go back to the BoA app - it forces me to start all over - it takes about 3 minutes for it to finally find an ATM near me. I've given up and just started searching for 'bank of america' in the Maps app. (iPhone app, 3gs.)
- onedognight 15y ago
  > if I use it to find a nearby ATM, and switch over to the Google Maps app, and go back to the BoA app - it forces me to start all over They fixed this is the latest release. It now will keep you logged in as long as the app hasn't been kicked out of memory (which is not up to them). On a 3GS that might be sooner than you'd like, but has been working for me on my 4.

saucetenuto 15y ago

> Friday's disruption came the same day that BofA said it would begin charging customers $5 per month for purchases billed to their debit card. Does anyone have more details on this? The units don't seem to match in "per month for purchases" - like, $5 per purchase? $5 a month? $5 a month, but only on months in which you make at least one purchase? And for heaven's sake, why?

bingaman 15y ago
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/business/banks-to-make-customers-pay-debit-card-fee.html http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/30/business/banks-to-make-cus... Because fuck you, that's why.
- neilc 15y ago
  > Because fuck you, that's why. No: The round of new charges stems from a rule, which takes effect on Saturday, that limits the fees that banks can levy on merchants every time a consumer uses a debit card to make a purchase. Given the low rate of fraud on debit card purchases, banks were previously making a killing on from debit card fees; with those fees reduced, they need to find an alternative revenue stream. US banks aren't exactly doing well these days, so their need to replace that revenue with something else is understandable.
  - pavel_lishin 15y ago
    Sure, just like a lion's need to eat zebras is understandable. But the zebra is still going to be pissed, and will probably switch to another bank or credit union.
    - hugh3 15y ago
      And the zebra won't miss it at all, because the zebra wasn't making the lion any money. This metaphor is severely broken at this point, but you get the idea.
      - Florin_Andrei 15y ago
        You folks are so blindly enamored with the "free market" that you'll keep singing them praises even as they go about skinning you alive. Pavlov would be proud.
        Jach 15y ago
        I don't consider myself a heavy supporter of traditional free market idealism, but it's clear to me that the credit and banking industry has long been in bed with the government. The government says X so company does Y, the government says don't do Y so company does Z, and they're all probably winking and nodding behind closed doors. With a government separated from such industries, I believe we'd actually have some decent choices instead of "Visa or MasterCard?" and "BoA or Wells Fargo?" (Of course there are credit unions but they're only bandaids.) I don't know of anyone who supports free market ideals saying you should let sociopaths skin you alive, let alone singing praise. Some of the meaner people in the crowd do say "let the stupid people be exploited, it's their own fault if they don't realize they're being skinned and their stupidity keeps these things in power." I don't particularly agree with that sentiment, though it is rooted in another one: if customers are truly pissed, they'll go somewhere else [in the absence of government/monopolistic forces preventing them from doing so].
hugh3 15y ago
Five dollars a month, for any month in which you use your debit card for purchases. As for the "why", the immediate reason is because there have been some legal changes vis a vis how much they can charge to the merchant for the benefit of running this transaction. More generally, because they want to incentivize people to use their credit cards instead of debit cards. And for those who can't or don't want to get credit cards -- to incentivize them to take their business elsewhere, because the bank really doesn't make any money off people who just have checking accounts. Checking accounts are merely a gateway drug to more expensive banking products. Doesn't bother me, I get 1% cash back on my credit card and am not dumb enough to spend more than I earn on it, so I already have no incentive to use my debit card for purchases.
- pavel_lishin 15y ago
  I'm annoyed at this, but I probably won't switch. I rarely use my debit card to make purchases, since I have a BoA credit card with reward points - and I've heard that debit card fraud is more difficult to combat. Do most people shop with their debit card?
  - click170 15y ago
    In Canada we do. I think the reliance on credit cards is largely an American phenomenon.
    - mahyarm 15y ago
      In Canada, people don't use Visa or Mastercard Debit cards. They use Interac, a Canadian financial network that only charges a flat fee of ~0.25 per debit card transaction. You can't use them for online purchasing although. Most Canadian's are surprised when you can use a debit card like a credit card for online purchases.
      - msbarnett 15y ago
        The phrasing of your last two sentences is unclear, but to clarify for those reading, you can indeed use Interac debit cards for online payments.

myth_drannon 15y ago

First bank e-run ?

lsc 15y ago

oh man. so they use he.net, too? (I kid, but it's been a pretty horrible week for DoS attacks there, too.)