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I always thought devs whose apps disappear due to Developer Program payment issues are idiots
But boy, do I now have understanding for them! 😂
In the world of "for your own safety", this just happened and almost made all my apps unavailable on the App Store:
- Apple Developer Program auto-renew failed "because there was a billing issue" (account definitely has funds available)
- Logged in. Existing credit card was declined "because there is a new 3D Security Service by VISA and Bank of Ireland to enhance your security ™"
- I now need to approve the payment by hand in the bank's app on an iOS device
- Pulled out the device, fortunately I had it with me. Launched the bank app.
- Bank app says "Updating the app" (yes, they apparently have a mechanism for updating the app outside the App Store, which is illegal according to Apple's rules). "Updating the app" screen freezes.
- Killed the app and relaunched.
- App tries to update itself again and this time freezes on the last step.
- Killed and launched the app again. Now it seems to be fine
- Checked SMS: "Your security device has been blocked due to several failed Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) attempts"
- "Not you trying to use the app? Please call us now." Errr OK, but what if it was me trying to use the app, who do I call then?
- Just gave up and used my personal credit card (not business) instead, which is still working without the security crap
I mean seriously, if digital payments are this complicated and flakey (and your life depends on them these days!), I'd rather just go back to cash and couriers.
Is this really the "state of the art" in 2024?
Comments
Yes, digital payments suck in 2024.
My wife went to the post office to pay a few bills totalling just under £600. The first attempt didn't work so the post office clerk cancelled the payments and handed my wife a receipt stating they were cancelled and zero charge. Then the payments were done again this time successfully. Later my wife noticed that the payment was now pending twice! So, nearly £1200 to be taken from the account.
After visiting the post office, my wife was informed that one of the sums would not be taken, but they both were. After visiting the post office for the third time and with them stating that they do not have the money showing on their system, my wife phoned the bank. The bank confirmed that both lots of money had been taken and that the post office had the money. None of the bills had been paid twice!
Currently we are still awaiting the money to be put back into the account, after a certain date of which the bank can proceed to attempt to get the money back themselves from the post office: this they say could 'take some time'!
This is the norm now for our World that relies on digital payments.
EVERY single transaction I try and make with my business credit card is flagged as potential fraud, and if I don’t have my phone with me to confirm it’s “ok” via text in 30 seconds they block it and cancel my card.
Soooooo frustrating, and the back said it’s entirely on the credit card company they have nothing to do with it.
Yeah. I mean, it's all probably two things:
1) "Liability". They all want to cover their asses. Fine. Let me sign a sheet that says that no matter what happens, if I forget my credentials or reveal them to third parties, then my money is gone and I can't blame anyone . I'd sign that in a heartbeat to get rid of all this kafkaesque "security" stuff, as, even if it sounds arrogant, I've never lost (or leaked) a single login credential in my life.
2) EU regulations. That's a tough one and probably nothing the bank can do about it. I guess I'll have to move. 😄 (but apparently it's not much better in the US for example.)
Heard and had similar stories. Credit card payments on websites often are implemented in technically very flaky ways, loading in shitty iframes with everything flickering and refreshing 10 times etc., so that anytime I hit "submit" there, often with 3 retries needed, I'm already wondering "how many times will this payment now get booked on my account?" 😄
Wait until crypto take over its gone be even more complicated.
How so? At least then you can trace the transactions yourself without having to go to the bank or call your credit card.
They (politicians) will probably regulate it to death so it becomes even more impractical than credit cards 😄 I have no idea about crypto in general, but I do see the words "crypto" and "regulation" daily in newspaper headlines.
(yes, I know governments are currently not involved when dealing with transactions. But that doesn't matter. They'll simply make them illegal except if you "approve" each transactions through some kind of flaky government portal that costs $10 per transaction 😉)
oh pretty horror story, in would probably throw my notebook out of closed window 🤣🤣
listening such stories i am just glad i actually never jumped into iOS apps coding boat ☠️
this is just not true.. holding crypto in self custody and sending it is as simple and transparent as it can be .. until you are not completely braindead, you need 5 minutes of explanation to understand everything you need to know to just use it…
replace word “ban” with “regulation” other than that it is same :-)))
I must be going brain dead.
And all of this because "the user" (as a generic entity) is a complete idiot. This is why the banks try to do all the best regarding security. But "the user" is even more idiot that you can imagine
Yes, but that's why I was saying that I, as a self-proclaimed non-idiot, should have the option to sign an addendum when I open my account, taking any and all responsibility on myself and freeing the bank from any liability whatsoever, and in turn they turn off ALL security bullshit for my account and card except a normal login and password like in the 90s, which is PERFECTLY SECURE if you're not an idiot.
I've already run out of closed windows so that is not an option!
😄 good stuff
Yeah this stuff is so annoying. I was out of state and needed to get some gas, and even though I was in a place that I’ve been to a lot of times since my family lived back there, it still flagged my account as suspicious and it was such a PITA to get logged in and let the bank know if was me. Digital and online banking is really convenient until it’s not. And then it really sucks.
Just today, my partner was buying car insurance and as she was signing up the completion part failed and kicked her out of the system. She checked her bank and they'd taken the premium. She phoned them and they told her they've got computer problems and the money would be refunded in 2-3 working days. Cheeky bar stewards. They took the money quick enough. Not so quick to give it back.
We should all go back to using cash where we can.
Err OK, it started off as a random rant, but it seems like I've hit a nerve here 😄
You've been around long enough to know we all like a rant 😆
Governments are not going to ban bitcoin. As I understand it, their plans are twofold, on a long rollout. This is not crazy MAGA big government conspiracy but accepted wisdom among more and more macro economists.
(1) CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) ... and once it's implemented and working they will phase out cash currency. This will allow them to make stimulus payments direct to citizens but impose restrictions, like expiration dates. It will also allow them to have much finer grained monitoring of both economic metrics and taxable events. By phasing out cash, the US Treasury can both save on mintage costs and abandon all the black market hundos sitting overseas in suitcases and vaults.
(2) That leaves a loophole for people to use crypto to bypass the transaction monitoring, so simultaneously, they will impose greater and greater restrictions around the reporting of transactions using cryptocurrency. The IRS has new 2024 rules in place that any crypto transaction over $10,000USD must be reported within 15 days at risk of felony for failure to report.
This should all go over very well, I'm sure.
I've just seen the strangest thing, it kinda ties in with this thread.
So, I get it, everyone's extremely paranoid and I need all these "security" shenenigans in order to be able to access or even view my money. Fine.
So, in order to log in to my bank website on my desktop computer, I need another device (my phone) to "proove" that it's me. OK, sorted.
However, I just actually used my bank's iPhone app properly for the first time (so far I've only ever used it for the "security device" thing) to check my transactions.
IT LET ME STRAIGHT IN AND DID NOT ASK ME TO LOG IN TO MY DESKTOP COMPUTER TO "PROOVE" THAT IT'S ME!
WTF?
So, I need to PROOVE that it's me when I want to do online banking on my desktop, but I do NOT need to PROOVE that it's me when I want to do online banking on my PHONE?
That's insane. I don't see any kind of logic in this. Is my desktop computer somehow less "trustworthy" than my phone?
Here in Sweden we just use Bank ID to log into most stuff like banks, government stuff, medical stuff and so on. A digital ID that you can tie to 3 devices (like tablet, phone, computer). For banking stuff I just use my banks APP which is well developed, great UI etc (you need to use Bank ID to log in). Or regular websites for credit cards etc (that also uses Bank ID).
All this digital currency stuff is OK in theory until the power goes out or a data line gets cut and suddenly you can’t make or receive payments. I have personally experienced both of these occurrences in recent times. The system isn’t foolproof.
You don’t walk around with your personal computer tied to your body during your normal day to day. It’s kinda silly really - I agree with you, but they can locate a phone down to exact pin point locations because of GPS etc and so can usually assume it’s you using it. Funny though that 2 factor authentication can be completed all on one device. I usually do all my banking through the phone app because of this situation. It’s just an easier process.
Diia coming soon, at the moment it’s undergoing a trial. Simply convenient.
Sooooo... I mean, banks are really in general not that user-friendly or smart.
Just two things I observed again today and thought this is a good place to drop them:
1) I wanted to "add a new payee" (yes, you can't just send money to anyone.You first have to "add a payee" to the "database" in a convoluted process. The input field for the payee's IBAN is so stupid that it cannot accept IBANs with spaces in them (i.e., how 99% of IBANs are represented in the digital world). So, instead of fool-proof copy & paste, you have to manually read and type in the IBAN while removing the spaces manually, adding a huge potential for typos and thus bad consequences.
This is entry-level UX stuff!
2) I then want to send the new payee their money. "The daily limit for newly added payees is EUR 1000". Uhmmm OK. So this means I have to send them their money in 4 "sub-payments" in the cause of 4 days, which includes adding a daily task to my calendar and meticulously keeping track of how much money I've already sent, with each transaction being complicated in its own right with all the aforementioned login and multi-step "security device" shenenigans.
I mean, these institutions have control over our money. Maybe they should be a bit more user-friendly and less stupid 😄
Incidentally, while everyone was sleeping and discussions turned away from Bitcoin, it just broke its all-time high today. It’s not going away.
I never said it was going away. I said it is complicated to use. It will need to simplify for mass media adoption.
Also it is way too easy to make a mistake and loose everything or get scammed.
I’ll respond to this since you responded. There are now ETFs (exchange traded funds) which allow people to invest in BTC without the complications and concerns of holding Bitcoin oneself. So it’s not a big stretch to imagine a service available from stock brokers who will hold your BTC or ETH for you and allow you to draw upon your investment just like a stock or any other investment. Most people don’t take physical possession of their stocks. So it will be for the wider public with cryptos. I think even banks and credit unions may get in on this eventually.
I'm not doing it any more, but I traded modest amounts of cryptocurrencies on Robinhood. I could trade in $ and treat them exactly like any other stock or ETF. I made profit on Etherium and (eventually) broke even with Bitcoin. No big deal just straight up buy/sell trades.
I stopped as I couldn't get my head around predicting fluctuations as reliably as with other stocks. I suck at trading stocks, but I sucked a lot worse with crypto. 😂