A short conversation with a bank

Two anecdotal-

I will say simple was a joy to work with, even for things that were old. I would never have closed on my house in time if not for them. Sadly- it seems that since BBVA -> PNC … everything historic for that account is gone.

Unrelated to banks:

Me: I’m calling because I got a notice that you’re cancelling my healthcare due to non payment of my premium?

Healthcare service line: yes. You had a responsibility to pay it and you didn’t so we cancelled it and we can’t change that decision for 12 months.

Me: but I have a confirmation of the payment from your digital pay system, and a bank statement that shows you have taken payments each month for the last several months.

Healthcare service line: I don’t see those on my end. You should have called to verify we received them. Maybe your credit card or checking account was stolen.

Me: but I can login to your website and it has the payment history.

Healthcare service line: hangs up.

> Now it makes sense.

Can you enlighten me? Why don’t they include that in the email receipt?

I was just about to comment the same.

I recently needed to make several medical appointments with a large healthcare provider. They had FOUR different online portals to "manage" my appointments and information. Navigating that was the exact same experience as the article, just without an actual person.

We're a verb now, we've never had a profitable quarter, and we're still trying to come up with a business model.

> Exactly same as with paper ones, but with fewer steps.

Actually with more steps.

Paper statements:

Bank generates paper statement on appointed day (work/time input by bank)

Bank packages paper statement in envelope and mails it (work/time input by bank)

Postal service delivers paper statement to my mailbox (work/time input by postal service)

I open paper statement (work/time input by me)

I scan paper statement (work/time input by me) (also can be optional if one prefers simply filing paper statements)

Electronic statement PDF's on bank website:

Bank (maybe) sends an email saying "your statement is ready"

I receive the email

I have to now open my password manager (work/time by me)

I have to log into bank website (work/time input by me)

I have to navigate to the "download your statement area" (which was designed to make the process of accessing the electronic statement as obtuse as possible) (work/time input by me)

I have to download the pdf (hopefully one click for me, but still a bit of work/time by me)

I have to rename the downloaded pdf to fit my filing convention (since, at best, it downloads as "statement.pdf" from the bank)

The major time input on my part with paper statements is the "scan" part, all the rest happens without any involvement of time, energy, or remembering it is "time" on my part.

The electronic statement download requires I actively expend time and effort to "go to their website, log in, find the download section, find the statement, and initiate the download".

What I want to see, but no bank offers it, is exactly the same flow as the paper/postal service, but substituting "email" for "postal service" and "pdf" for "paper". I upload a GPG public key, bank does the work of encrypting the pdf using my key and emailing me a copy (which makes "electronic statement" the same as paper, they do the work of remembering it is time and initiating the transmission). Then I save the pdf attachment from the email, decrypt it, and file it (saving the "scan" step from the paper copy flow).