The future is here folks. And it sucks.
So the passwords 'abc' 'ABC' and '222' are treated as equivalent. Try it out for fun!
Ex : I call my bank and I have to go through a menu leading me to the right agent. Eventually, it asks for my password over the phone that I need to type using the 10 numbers on a phone dial.
Good luck using your fingerprint there :)
What's worse, because it can be entered on the phone, aAbBcC are all == 1. So it's really just 6 digits.
That is, of course, complete bullshit.
Sure, it is plausible that a bank has an old mainframe handling their accounts. It is also plausible that user account passwords on that old mainframe are only 6 or 8 characters and from a limited alphabet.
What does that have to do with customer online banking accounts? Nothing!
When you open a bank account they don't make a user account for you on their mainframe. What they make for you is an entry in an application database that their banking applications use. The only mainframe user accounts involved are the account that the database runs under and the account that the banking application runs under, both of which are the same for all banking customers.
Even if, for some strange reason, they do actually have to make a mainframe login account for each banking customer there is no reason for the banking customer to ever directly access that. Online banking is accessed through the web, so only the web server needs to access your banking account on the mainframe. They could make the website have its own password system, without the mainframe login restrictions. The restricted mainframe login information would only be known by the mainframe and the website back end. The banking customer should never deal with that.
(Obligatory xkcd comic: https://xkcd.com/1926/ )
https://i.imgur.com/O2eOwLw.jpg
Edit:
"You may be liable for all losses from unauthorized use of your Account if you:
contributed to its unauthorized use; used a PIN combination selected from your name, telephone number, date of birth, address, or Social Insurance Number; did not use reasonable care to safeguard your Secret ID Code; did not keep your Secret ID Code separate from your Card; did not comply with your reporting obligations in Section 11 of this Agreement unless there were exceptional circumstances for your failure to do so; or shared a mobile device that you registered with us for Electronic Banking Services. In those cases, your liability may exceed the funds in an Account, your credit limit or any daily transaction limits. In other words, your liability will not be limited by your Account balance, your credit limit or any daily transaction limits. You must cooperate and assist in any investigation that we initiate into the unauthorized use you reported, which is a precondition to being reimbursed for any losses. This cooperation may include filing a report with law enforcement authorities."
Overall seems fair enough protection.
It's entirely possible to claim your card was skimmed and have your bank refund the money. However, if they then find out that the ATM used to withdraw your entire balance is the same ATM you've used for years, and your face is on the ATMs security camera at the time of withdraw, then you're in for a world of hurt.
Look at Mr. PrivateBanking over there, my one is 5. Amount in words : Five.
And that is after they updated all their software and moved to a new datacenter and everything recently.
Granted I have a hardware dongle to authenticate any transactions, but to gain access to all my information, five characters is all the protection they wish to offer...
My corp (guild for non-Eve players) had a better and more secure login & SSO system than either my bank or my employer. My employer has replaced their SSO system by now, but my bank is still in the 90s.
Offenders: Wells Fargo, Chase, American Express, Fidelity, ....