4 ms·

In what country? In the UK I've never been forced (or even encouraged) to install the banking app. Which is lucky, becuase I'd sooner switch bank.

weberer 4y ago
In Finland, you have to use a bank's authentication service to do pretty much anything. Most people use a mobile app for that, but paper codes work as well.
tpoacher 4y ago
Also in the UK and have no idea what you're on about. All major banks require app-based authentication. Many also offer sms as an alternative, but this is being phased out across the board. A handful maaaay still allow you to do banking via physical cardreader verification if all else fails (and you have no record of having ever installed an app).
- tomxor 4y ago
  > All major banks require app-based authentication [...] A handful maaaay still allow you to do banking via physical cardreader verification [...] Uhm no... I can personally attest to at least Barclays and Natwest allowing you to use a cardreader + website, no apps needed, all online services available through website. Those are 2 of the top 4 largest banks in the UK, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a similar story for the rest. I imagine they would get in pretty deep legal trouble if they forced people to use smart phones. Just because you don't try to use stuff without an app doesn't mean it doesn't exist anymore, I don't have a smart phone - life is good in the UK.
  - tpoacher 4y ago
    These are all slowly being phased out. That's the point. I'm on Natwest too, which is one of the banks I'm actually referring to. As soon as I installed the app (for unrelated reasons) it started requiring it for authentication, even though I never chose that as an option, and it persisted even after I had uninstalled it. It is not impossible to work around it, but it's definitely not a pleasant experience, especially not when dealing with payments. My recent experience is that Natwest at least has been adding 'friction' for doing things without the app. Case in point, I needed to change my address recently. I explicitly wanted to avoid the app, because it mandated establishing a biometric password. I tried the website, the website redirected me to a telephone number. I called the number, 30 minutes later, it happily informed me that "Great. What you're trying to do is possible from the app. Why not download ...". In the end I took half a day off from work and went to the bank in person and asked a human to update my details. But judging from other industries, and seeing how the app is being pushed, I have no expectations that "human customer support" is going to be a thing for much longer (except for the typical "Helloooo I'm here to walk you through the app via a script I cannot deviate from" annoying kind).
- afandian 4y ago
  All I can say is that I bank with two mainstream high-street banks and use password + SMS authentication, with the option of a card reader.
- mastazi 4y ago
  Wait a second, (I'm curious because here in Australia this thing doesn't seem to exist) is this limited to their mobile site (you need app in order to log in on your phone), or you actually need to have a phone with you when you access online banking on your desktop? If it's the latter, that's crazy, what if you don't have a smartphone? That would be a complete deal breaker for me, I would switch to a different bank

weberer 4y ago

In Finland, you have to use a bank's authentication service to do pretty much anything. Most people use a mobile app for that, but paper codes work as well.

tpoacher 4y ago

Also in the UK and have no idea what you're on about. All major banks require app-based authentication. Many also offer sms as an alternative, but this is being phased out across the board. A handful maaaay still allow you to do banking via physical cardreader verification if all else fails (and you have no record of having ever installed an app).

tomxor 4y ago
> All major banks require app-based authentication [...] A handful maaaay still allow you to do banking via physical cardreader verification [...] Uhm no... I can personally attest to at least Barclays and Natwest allowing you to use a cardreader + website, no apps needed, all online services available through website. Those are 2 of the top 4 largest banks in the UK, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a similar story for the rest. I imagine they would get in pretty deep legal trouble if they forced people to use smart phones. Just because you don't try to use stuff without an app doesn't mean it doesn't exist anymore, I don't have a smart phone - life is good in the UK.
- tpoacher 4y ago
  These are all slowly being phased out. That's the point. I'm on Natwest too, which is one of the banks I'm actually referring to. As soon as I installed the app (for unrelated reasons) it started requiring it for authentication, even though I never chose that as an option, and it persisted even after I had uninstalled it. It is not impossible to work around it, but it's definitely not a pleasant experience, especially not when dealing with payments. My recent experience is that Natwest at least has been adding 'friction' for doing things without the app. Case in point, I needed to change my address recently. I explicitly wanted to avoid the app, because it mandated establishing a biometric password. I tried the website, the website redirected me to a telephone number. I called the number, 30 minutes later, it happily informed me that "Great. What you're trying to do is possible from the app. Why not download ...". In the end I took half a day off from work and went to the bank in person and asked a human to update my details. But judging from other industries, and seeing how the app is being pushed, I have no expectations that "human customer support" is going to be a thing for much longer (except for the typical "Helloooo I'm here to walk you through the app via a script I cannot deviate from" annoying kind).
afandian 4y ago
All I can say is that I bank with two mainstream high-street banks and use password + SMS authentication, with the option of a card reader.
mastazi 4y ago
Wait a second, (I'm curious because here in Australia this thing doesn't seem to exist) is this limited to their mobile site (you need app in order to log in on your phone), or you actually need to have a phone with you when you access online banking on your desktop? If it's the latter, that's crazy, what if you don't have a smartphone? That would be a complete deal breaker for me, I would switch to a different bank