Bank of America may finally embrace Firefox

The largest bank in the United States has officially ignored the second most popular Web browser--until recently.

A tipster for Networkworld.com pointed out recently that Bank of America's Web site did not list the Mozilla Foundation's Firefox as a "supported browser," even though Firefox now commands almost 20 percent of the browser market. The bank's site lists Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Apple's Safari, and Netscape as acceptable browsers.

Netscape? Even AOL, Netscape's former owner, doesn't support Netscape Navigator anymore.

Of course, Firefox, which was released in 2004 and recently set a Guiness record for downloads in a 24-hour period, still works on the BofA Web site--just not officially. The issue apparently came up when a BofA customer contacted the bank about problems he was having accessing the site using Safari. "Please don't tell me to just use Firefox instead," the Networkworld.com reader told BofA customer support.

Not a problem, according to customer support.

"Please note Bank of America does not support Firefox," was customer service's reply.

When posed with the question of why the No.1 bank's Web site did not whole-heartedly embrace the No. 2 browser's 180 million users, a spokeswoman told Networkworld.com that "there is a process that we go through to 'officially support' a browser type and version, which includes in-depth functional and regression testing cycles.

"As the usage of Firefox browsers has increased with our customer base, we will be initiating a full support model for Firefox version 2.x in the very near future," spokeswoman Tara Burke told Networkworld.com.

Think "the very near future" will prove to be very soon? Don't bank on it.

[t26l]

How backward; note they said they'll support Firefox 2.x, not the spankin-new version 3?
I reiterate: how banckward

[M C]

Non-story. I've been using FF to manage my BoA account for ages. Slow news day, CNet?

[professionaladventurer]

Never had any issues using BoA with firefox on my Macbook Pro?

[paul.saulnier]

You know M C, you and others like don't need to add a stupid "slow new day" comment for every article you don't think is exciting enough for you.

[menty666]

Let them ignore FF, I've been ignoring them and their high fees for years.

[EcuadorHomesOnline]

Why would ANYONE want to use Firefox? It's crapware - buggy, unstable, and insecure. Stay with Explorer if you want to have a good web experience!

[bsarte]

I am a BoA customer, been using FireFox 2 and now 3... no problems ever...

I have to add my surprise. I do total banking with BofA on line, do all types of transactions there, and have been using Firefox for at least 3 years --- maybe longer. I never even thought about browser problems with the bank, since I never had any problems.

I have to add my surprise. I do total banking with BofA on line, do all types of transactions there, and have been using Firefox for at least 3 years --- maybe longer. I never even thought about browser problems with the bank, since I never had any problems.

[manodud]

Don't they already do? I never used IE for accessing my BoA account online...

[EnvoyPV]

BoA sucks. I've been forced to use them for years because of a corporate contract. Fortunately, that's expiring soon!

[whizkid454]

After using Firefox, I'm never going back to IE.

[JokerCPoC]

How ironic BofA supports Safari which has more trouble than IE and yet BofA doesn't support Firefox which has had no trouble at all.

IE=Microsoft
IE+AOL=AOL+Microsoft
Safari=Apple
Netscape=AOL
Firefox=Open Source(No Commercial backing)

To Me, It sounds like BofA hasn't liked Open Source for some reason.

[JCPayne]

Ha... I dropped Bof A sooooo long ago... Soo many other Banks now give you free checking and stuff why stick with BoA.

[llungster]

Add me to the list of users who use FF 2.x with BoA regularly. Never had a problem. As for BoA itself, I've never had a problem with them either - no fees, easy access to ATMs, easy access to branch offices. Works for me.

TD Ameritrade does not support Firefox, Safari, Opera or Netscape. It only supports Internet Exploder.

I know because I work for them and I have to leave my office and go to the public library to use the computers there.

It is not just ignoring other browsers. It is purposely programming to accept only one browser. I can't get anyone to give a good reason.

[rcrusoe]

Same here, I've been using FF since its early beta days. In fact, I selected BOA years ago because I could log in from a Mac or Linux machine.

[ricegf]

I have dropped several companies (remember me, Walmart Discover?) who had "IE only" policies, since IE itself is only supported on Windows. Why would I allow myself to be forced to use an obsolete operating system just to access their product? Competition is sweet!

That said, I've done my on-line BoA banking via Firefox on Ubuntu for several years, and never experienced any problems. Nor do I pay fees for checking. However, I keep my *savings* with ING, since BoA's interest rates on their savings accounts are laughable.

[The_Decider]

If BoA had a clue they would not be supporting any browser. They would write the web site to standards. There is never a reason to write a web site for a browser. Ironically it is much more work to write for a support specific browsers. That is a sign of an incompetent IT shop.

[mikeburek]

They'll get to FF it after they look into that new fangled "customer service" thing other banks talk about.