Support for Mac and its users still limited
Up until this week, my bank was Sky Bank. Sky Bank was recently purchased by Huntington and they officially switched over to Huntington this past Monday. The transition seemed as though it would be smooth. That is, until I received an email regarding my online banking for Huntington:
Step 1: Verify System Requirements
Browser Requirement
Internet Explorer 5.5 and above
Operating Systems Supported
Windows 2000
Windows XP
Alright, that’s going to be a problem. I do have a MacBook Pro which has the ability to run Windows. That doesn’t mean I want to fire up Windows every time I need to check my bank account online. I don’t run Windows unless I absolutely have to and it’s just convenient to have the ability to do my online banking from the Mac OS.
I got a call from a Huntington online banking specialist asking why I hadn’t set up my online account. I let them know I am a Mac user and inquired as to what my options were. After checking with his manager, here is what he told me: “We advise that Mac users find access to a Windows based PC. Your other option is to contact Apple and talk to them about a workaround.”
Huntington Bank is not a small company. They have the resources to provide support for the Mac if they choose to. I understand that Windows users still make up roughly 90 percent of the population. Why alienate a potential market of users who are growing yearly though? Especially when you look at an average Mac user.
It never ceases to amaze me that this is still an issue. Five or even three years ago, maybe. With the growing number of users and interest in Apple, the iPod and iPhone, it just doesn’t seem to make sense. From a customer service standpoint, well, larger companies seem to do this all the time. From a marketing standpoint… I guess they just didn’t think it through.
Needless to say, if anyone knows of a bank that supports Mac online, I’m looking 
September 26th, 2007 at 1:54 am
Chase. I’m a Mac user, and my wife works at Chase, and we do a lot of our banking online.
September 26th, 2007 at 1:59 am
Thanks Chuck! I’ll have to check them out. I’ll be opening an account for myself, my girlfriend, and my business by the weekend.
December 4th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
Mike,
While I appreciate your dialog, or rather Apple propaganda, I’m going to go out on a limb here and hypothesize that you don’t really have a job…or at least an actual real job. The onset of the Internet has expanded upon the word “consultant” to include anyone with a computer and self-proclaimed knowledge of the IT field.
Go get a job, in an office, and with people other than those talking in the background on your TV. At this point, and at this point only, will you learn that Apple will NEVER have any penetration into the rhelm of business in America. Go ahead, and try to name me one company in the Fortune 500 that currently uses Apple or the MAC OS as their standard.
December 4th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Alex, I would venture to say Apple uses Apple computers…
December 4th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Alex,
You’ve missed the point completely. It’s not whether or not a company uses Apple or the Mac OS as “their standard”, it’s accommodating people (i.e. their customers or potential customers) who use the Mac OS. It’s a marketing issue, not a tech one.