Lets have fun – compare 5 banks:

Wells Fargo (US)
Bank of America (US)
Barclays (UK)
Bank of Montreal (Canada)
Bankinter (Spain)
Santander (Chile)

I picked Spain because they are renowned for their internet banking. South America is similar but for different reasons. The hyperinflation has driven consumers to expect instant access to better manage their affairs. So here is our line-up – lets take a consumer look, and pardon my ignorance of Spanish and Portugese, although my American isn't that great either.

Read below the fold for home page assessment, and how I got to the following Bankwatch relevance.

Relevance to Bankwatch:

1. OLB log in has to be on the home page.
2. grab the users attention intelligently – refer Santander (but lose the TV crook)
3. Talk to your primary audience, make the rest secondary – prioritise
4. The home page isn't a site map – its a road map
5. A sophisticated suite of functions is critical

First reaction:

Wells Fargo (US)

• A lot of links, but simple enough
• I have to read to figure out what I want to see
• Secure page and I can log in to online banking (olb) from the home page

Bank of America (US)

• A lot of links, but simple enough
• I have to read to figure out what I want to see
• Secure page and I can log in to online banking (olb) from the home page

Barclays (UK)

• good rates
• talking to me about my needs, fraud, overspending, fraud concerns
• olb log in not obvious – found it in the header, but its a click away – tiresome

Bank of Montreal (Canada)

• cute picture, but don't know where to start – no links, or questions .. hmmm
• If I need a line of credit, I see that but not much else – horrible list of drop downs, once I found them. All things to all people and something to none.
• online banking is a click away

Bankinter (Spain)

• Double something, and good interest rates
• Pretty rich functions, including aggregation
• olb log in on the home page

Santander (Chile)

• Suspicious guy stealing a TV – (perhaps you have to be Portugese to appreciate)
• Very active page – changes all the time, and grabs you wondering what's coming next
• olb log in on the home page

Relevance to Bankwatch:

1. OLB log in has to be on the home page.
2. grab the users attention intelligently – refer Santander (but lose the TV crook)
3. Talk to your primary audience, make the rest secondary – prioritise
4. The home page isn't a site map – its a road map
5. A sophisticated suite of functions is critical