Social media pushes to include online banking. An interesting question this one, guaranteed to have mixed answers, and for some people the question would need to be rephrased as ‘do you trust Facebook at all?’ The question stems from recent news that Facebook has been working with some of Australia’s banks, designing a system for users to be able to make payments through their Facebook profile directly from their bank account.
Would you trust Facebook to connect with your bank account? While most people use Facebook, the majority of feedback and comments we here seem to be complaints about unannounced/compulsory changes, glitches, and spam. Not really the kind of feedback you look for when choosing an online payment method. Not to mention the fact that if you have an issue with your online banking, you can generally call your bank, whereas contacting Facebook can often be a long, painful process. On one hand, it’s difficult to have faith in Facebook handling such a task, but on the other hand, for many people Facebook already has all their info. For example a profile can contain a user’s home address, workplace details, date of birth, mother’s maiden name, everything required to access a bank account anyway, and all trusted to Facebook.
The question then may need to be rephrased, from ‘do you trust Facebook?’ to ‘do you have faith in Facebook’s competency?’ Anyone who has run social media marketing campaigns on Facebook will be able to tell you how difficult it can be getting answers to questions or issues resolved.
Perhaps they could focus on having some level of customer service before launching a banking product? Read more about Facebook Banking here.
