'Improved' internet banking from HSBC

Internet banking is evil. Instead of just finding out once a month how much money you wasted on crap and gadgets, you can now see it in pretty much real-time.

Obviously, something like your internet banking is going to find a place on your toolbar/bookmarks bar/favourites bar. And, as we all know, when you're feeling a bit bored, a bit meh, you click through your favourites looking for something to do. I'd hardly advise watching the money pour away as a method for cheering yourself up...

Anyhow, onto this wonderful 'upgrade'. Whilst I was still on the familiar login screen, I noticed an odd new message written in shockingly red font. It read:

"IMPORTANT - You should pay particular attention when entering your security details as we may now ask you for your "SECOND TO LAST" number.

Please do not contact our CTS Helpdesk with general comments on this change."

Now I, along with everyone I've pasted this to, have no idea what 'second to last' is meant to mean. Is it the penultimate number, or is it the number before that? Seemingly, everyone else using the site is also unsure, thus the flood of messages they've been getting. In their own words:

"Feedback to date suggests we may need to change this and we are currently considering alternative wording. In the meantime please pay particular attention when entering your security details."

You don't say. Fortunately, my particular attention will prevail over your ambiguity. Though, it would possibly have been a bit more useful were you to use that sentence to give an example of what you mean by 'second to last'. Oh well, good job guys.

So, having sidestepped that tricky conundrum by not having been asked for my 'second to last' digit, I got into the new look site. Wow. One analogy springs to mind, and I think it fits pretty much perfectly:

Consider the old internet banking site as a beautiful lady you meet whilst out for the night - stylish, sophisticated, simple yet elegant and utterly responsive to everything you want, to everything you do.

Consider the new internet banking as that same lady, but 9 hours later, as you wake up with your head on the pillow next to hers. Shabby, plain, ugly, boring and completely uninterested in what you want or what you're doing. Finally, let's not forget that she/it really rubs in the fact that you've wasted your money on that last night out.

Time to leave some 'feedback' methinkst.