Community

The Northern Bank plastic fivers are still in circulation in Northern Ireland. While I've never seen them ripped, they suffer from fading, and end up as almost transparent pieces of plastic.

My guess is that it'll be replaced by the one-off direct debit mandate (SEPA style).

I read that Islamic banking is popular with non-muslims in areas where there is more than one religion (Malaysia, I think). If a bank here markets Islamic-compliant products as "ethical", rather than overtly "Islamic", they could capture the green market - as well as other religious groups concerned with ursury.

Islamic banking's advatantages are security and certainty... but disadvantages are the rates. Essentially, it boils down to whether you are up for a gamble or not!

I have often wondered why identification is always one way, with the bank website asking me for a password. Instead, why not make it two way and I ask the bank for a password as well. This could be a single thing, or a range of questions:

What's my favourite fruit?

Can you show the picture of me holding a penguin?

When did I last use one of your ATMs?

After all, your identity is supposed to be shared with those you know. And this is a two way process.