Logistics: Banking

Over a recent brunch with our friend Rommy I was reminded of so many logistical matters that haven’t yet been covered.  So I am revisiting the logistics series.  Today we discuss banking.

Need to pay someone and don’t have cash?  Write a check?  In the US maybe, but in Sweden you give them your personnummer and bank name and they wire the money into your account. 

Need to pay your bills?  The bill that you get in the mail doesn’t have a perforated page that gets sent in with a check in a pre-addressed envelope; instead there is a routing number and information to wire the money directly from your bank account into their account.  Yes, I know we have online banking in the US too and that checks are becoming less necessary and more inconvenient.  But checks aren’t the only difference.

Logging in online to make these transactions a reality is no small feat.  We received this small machine in the mail with a USB cord and instructions in Swedish.  When we opened the bank account we were told that they were out of the instructions in English but we figured that this was a good opportunity to practice our Swedish...sink or swim.

USB connection from PC to our card scanner.  Sink.  Maybe it is Firefox.  Should we try Explorer?  Sink a little more.  Maybe we should try the Mac?  Sink.  Safari on the Mac?  Sink, sink, sink...we have to pay our cell phone bills and rent, but all we can do is gasp for air.  Every hardware-software combination failure was another gurgle.

I asked my colleagues and everyone was stumped.  On my way home I stopped by the bank to see if someone might be able to help me.  I was certain that the machine was broken.  Much to my surprise it wasn't the machine, the computer, or the choice of web browser.  Even though the package contained the USB cord and some illustrations showed using it, logging in required no such thing.

The machine is battery powered and here is what you do:
1. Go to the website and choose internet banking
2. Put your bank card into the little machine (without connecting by USB)
3. Push Login on the machine
4. Enter your personnummer on the website
5. Enter the code from the website into the little machine
6. Enter your pin code into the little machine
7. The machine then outputs nine digits to be entered on the website
8. Enter the nine digits and log in

Then you go through your regular online banking transactions.  But, you aren't done until you essentially repeat steps 1-8 to authorize the payments.  It requires loads of small steps, a little machine, the card, the PIN code, a computer with internet access, etc.  Perhaps this is because we use our personnummer as our bank account number and so we need extra security measures.  Or maybe Swedes like procedure.  Or maybe there is something very clever about this whole thing which I don't yet understand.  But, the mystery that remains...what's with the USB cord?

Comments

[Mark P]

Sounds like it would be much easier to just write the check and put it in the mail.

[Jacob]

I assume the bank you use is Nordea? I seem to remember them using your personal number as your bank account number. With my bank, Skandiabanken, I log in first using my personal number + pin code. After that I get a text msg to my cell phone with a generated one-time code to complete the login. My bank account number is not my personal number. As for the added security messures - I sure wouldn't want it to be as easy to crack a bank login as an email login.

For most of my re-curring bills I use either autogiro or egiro though. With autogiro the set amount it payed automatically every month. With egiro the bill is sent electronically to my internetbank and I simply click yes to authorize it being payed.

[celebrity picture]

Innovative way of paying out your money...Convenient of course !