Elderly people and online banking

Some great points here about usability.
Many people have a fear of computers - that they might click the wrong thing and blow it up or lose all their money.
My sister-in-law is 64 (2 years older than me) but avoids computers and apps like the plague. She does everything old-school - fills out paper forms, goes into banks or pos offices to do basic transactions as if it was 1990. If any task must be done via online she gets her daughters to do it.

Having tested software from machine-code to apps (and now AI) over 40 years i've seen how these have changed - the latest fads and awful user interfaces.

The same mistakes are made - software tools are created which automate some flow to complete a task (like filling in a application form for some service, booking a flight, making online purchases) are loaded with assumptions which make sense to the designers/developers but may not make sense to every user.

MFA is a great system but can be confusing when a user has to switch between apps or browser windows and not know how to get back to the original page, especially on a small screen.

So, yes, theres a lot of fear of tech but thats not helped by poor UI design.

Now with AI, many service providers are using it as a front-line service desk. And its mostly terrible.
Example: Try getting through to Virgin Media to query a bill.
 
I do 90% of my online stuff on my laptop. I have a not very smart phone and I don't like using it. Having my Ryanair boarding cards on it, my WhatsApp friends and access to Google is about all I use it for. Everything else is laptop.

I book flights, hotels, transfers, research and read stuff, emails etc......all on my laptop. I fumble with my phone, find my reading glasses are not great with my phone, fat fingers....

I do not have online banking and I don't want it. I call in to my bank branch, use ATM's and still prefer to receive a paper bank statement. I have debit cards but still prefer cash. I only use the tap function when I have to.

I can access my paper stuff, I am pretty bad at finding stuff on my phone.

I am falling behind and I know it.
 
I am begining to believe that older folk would be well advised to use a tablet in addition to their phone.
I have observed with my older relatives that the finger dexterity/accuracy required to operate within the small space of a phone screen is getting too challenging.
Ideally combine the tablet with a bluetooth mouse and/or keyboard.
A PC can provide a similar accomodation to older fingers.
 
I'm far from 60 and I cannot type on a phone to save my life!

My mum is in her 80s. She can do a lot of things on the phone, except set up a fingerprint. I've tried to help her using different fingers but failed every time. I think her fingerprints are mostly gone... Too much housework perhaps.

It's taken me several minutes to type this post on the phone without typos or wrong auto corrections (hopefully!).
 
My husband stabs away at his smart phone with a fingernail like it’s an enemy. I keep telling him you need to use the pad of your finders to make a connection.
My neighbour aged 66 pays all the bills(which come in the post) in the post office. Does every blessed thing by cash. Had a fit recently when she didn’t get a letter to renew her car tax. I haven’t gotten a car tax renewal by post in donkeys.
 
Evie1962 said:
My neighbour aged 66 pays all the bills(which come in the post) in the post office.
Click to expand...

My late mother refused to let me move her pension to online so I had the pleasure of having to go to her post office every Friday to collect it. I always, always got stuck behind a person like this. It felt as if they had rounded up every bill that they ever had and decided to pay it that day or buy some stamps or plenty of other stuff.

They also liked to have a chat with the staff who they appeared to know. Did not begrudge them this time because one of the counter staff in the old ESB office in Fleet St apologised one day for the delay with the previous elderly customer. She had told her that she was the only person that she had spoken with in a few days, loneliness is a terrible thing :(
 
Saorview is going to be switched off.
Another blow to elderly people living in rural areas.
I have a parent who only knows how to switch the TV on / off.
 
I use my laptop for as much as possible, I can type properly so find the phone typing very unsatisfactory. I also need my glasses to see the phone screen clearly and after a while looking at phone screen I feel my eyesight deteriorates!

I can access my bank accounts on laptop, one on phone if needs be but unless I'm away from the house I will use laptop for whatsapp and messenger as well as can type so much faster and without mistakes!

I have most bills on dd but pay some others online too. I opened one of the Bankinter accounts and honestly only that I have a note of it in my dead file :) there would be no evidence in the house to show I have that account! I get statements from EBS & CU so have a filed record there. Health insurance is another one where if you chop and change a lot you may need proof of previous insurer, had an issue with grandson once where hospital night before procedure were saying they couldn't get confirmation of continuous insurance cover and therefore condition was pre existing and new insurer saying not covered, child had continuous cover from birth but with various companies and when there were takeovers the info didn't migrate correctly. Luckily we had some paper records at that time.
 
Try getting to age 90 years, then comment,
The RTE schedule is built around about people who dont change channels ... thats 13% of the viewership.
 
During those awful remote schooling days we got the kids pens as they found it easier to use for the apps they were using on the tablets we had. So not just elderly. Basically the premise of acessibility helps everyone.
 
My 90 year old mother struggles as she tried and hated a smart phone so that eliminates a lot of online options. She was fine with telephone banking but now her hearing is getting worse, in spite of hearing aids.
Shaking hands would make a tablet also a challenge.
Fortunately there is still a bank branch and post office nearby!

TV is also a challenge but she has mastered using voice control on the handset. Mass via the internet from the local church is a bit hit and miss. We have written instructions out several times but it is a constant challenge. She doesn’t really understand that the TV has input options and internet is just one of many… too many…

It is a good lesson to all of her kids, already in their 60s, that keeping up to date is important. Don’t opt out!
 
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