Safari and Cahoot online bank (UK)

Question

Safari has recently stopped working with an online bank in the UK. The bank is called Cahoot
There is a forum thread on the UK MacUser site which includes responses from Cahoot. One of which reads as follows.
Quote:
The system which ensures that the characters you choose from the drop down box on the log in page are hidden is implemented using Javascript. This is a scripting system that is part of the web browser software.
We know that these scripts work properly with the two browsers that we formally support i.e. Internet Explorer and Netscape. Although we don't formally support it, we understand that Firefox 1.0 works fine too.
We do not currently support or test with the Safari browser but we understand that there may be some problems with its implementation of Javascript.
We know that Safari is the standard browser on newer Macs and as its popularity increases we will review the situation to see whether we should add it to the list of browsers that we support.
Does anyone here know if there's any truth in this? If not, I'd love some ammunition to throw back at Cahoot?

Answer 1

As promised, here's the text of the response I eventually received from Cahoot.
Dear Mr Choudhuri,
Thank you for contacting cahoot.
I can confirm that we have recently upgraded the log in page on our website so that the letters from your password are hidden with an asterix. This has resulted in problems with the Safari browser as the settings applied to it will not allow you past the password entry section. This is due to a scripting system that is part of the web browser software.
We know that these scripts work properly with the two browsers that we formally support i.e. Internet Explorer and Netscape. Although we don't formally support it, we understand that Firefox 1.0 works fine too.
We do not currently support or test with the Safari browser but we understand that there may be some problems with its implementation of Javascript.
We know that Safari is the standard browser on newer Macs and as its popularity increases we will review the situation to see whether we should add it to the list of browsers that we support.
In the meantime our recommendation is that you use a different browser to access the cahoot site. Whilst we support it, we're reluctant to recommend that you use IE version 5.5 for the Mac. Instead we recommend that you consider Firefox Version 1.0 which we are likely to be adding to our list of supported browsers in the near future because of its popularity. This is a modern standards-compliant browser which is available free of charge in a version for the Mac. It is available for download here http://www.mozilla.org
We're sorry that we've not been able to resolve the issue with your Safari browser.
If you require any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us again.
Kind regards,
Mike Greer,
cahoot
And here's what I sent back which, as yet, has gone unanswered:
Dear cahoot
Firstly, thank you for the more considered and informed response.
I'm interested in your statement:
I can confirm that we have recently upgraded the log in page on our website so that the letters from your password are hidden with an asterix. This has resulted in problems with the Safari browser as the settings applied to it will not allow you past the password entry section. This is due to a scripting system that is part of the web browser software.
Did you do any user testing? As a web based company, you surely cannot be unaware of the resurgence Apple is enjoying in the market place. You acknowledge that in your comment >>We know that Safari is the standard browser on newer Macs and as its popularity increases...<<. Safari users will be a small percentage of your users, but I'm pretty certain that percentage is growing. Our own web stats show that, and the various broswers check sites and market research companies echo that finding. Does it make good business sense to alienate customers, when there are plenty of banking and finance sites that achieve safe, secure login without locking out any particular browser (lloydstsb, natwest, amex, IF, barclaycard, etc - and that's just in the UK).
I'd urge you to reconsider your decision to effectively ignore a subset of your customers. Let's face it, I work in IT and I know full well that
<div class="jive-quote">we will review the situation to see whether we should add it to the list of browsers that we support.<<</div>
is a euphemism for "we're doing nothing about it until we're forced to"!
I don't want to change banks; it's a hassle and I've been quite happy with the service I've received from cahoot. However, I'm not about to let any bank dictate my choice of browser, especially when there's no good reason for it.
Regards
Rory
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