6 ms·

> banking/insurance/whatever apps I know banking apps are the typical example, but I've always wondered why. I use my bank's app maybe once or twice a year whe

by ipdashc 8mo ago

> banking/insurance/whatever apps I know banking apps are the typical example, but I've always wondered why. I use my bank's app maybe once or twice a year when I need to Zelle someone, which I only need to do when they don't have Venmo. (Unless we consider Venmo a banking app.) I only have one bank's app installed, the rest of my banks I only interact with over their website, on desktop. As for insurance, I've never had an insurance company's app installed. Am I just an outlier here? Honestly, if I switched to a non standard OS, I'd be more annoyed about losing, say, Google Maps, Uber/Lyft, or various chat apps. Banking and insurance just don't come to mind at all as something I need my phone for.

BenjiWiebe 8mo ago
I can't deposit checks over the website, and I use a bank with no physical locations near me.
- nradov 8mo ago
  That's true, but the notion that we're still using paper checks in 2026 is so crazy. And yet they remain the cheapest way to handle many transactions in the US financial system. Like a lot of small healthcare providers still prefer to receive paper checks from insurance companies because the electronic payment processors take a 3% fee.
  - hermanzegerman 8mo ago
    Why won't they just use Bank Transfers? Using Checks or Credit Cards for Payments between companies sounds completely insane and stupid
    - nradov 8mo ago
      Yes, it is completely insane and stupid. Direct bank-to-bank transfers require significant administrative work to set up, and may still incur bank fees. For individual consumer accounts most people can use Zelle but it's not universally available.
      - Synaesthesia 7mo ago
        Funny how South Africa has a way more sophisticated banking network than the USA.
        hermanzegerman 7mo ago
        I think nearly every other country has instant and free/low-cost bank transfers, without relying on some Apps. I haven't seen a cheque my entire life, and I'm born in the last century
avtolik 8mo ago
Banks often use their app for a second factor auth. here.
edent 8mo ago
My bank sends me an alert when my card is used to make a transaction - handy for spotting fraud. I get an alert when a payment comes it - handy for knowing if a client has paid. I can quickly check my balance - handy for knowing if I can afford another round of drinks. I can repay a friend in two taps - handy if they've paid for dinner. Is anything essential? No. Is it something people use multiple times per day? Yes!
- firtoz 8mo ago
  Could all of these be handled through openbanking?
  - xprnio 8mo ago
    Yes
- Markoff 8mo ago
  I can get alerts in email or messages, no need dedicated app for that, I can track there also my balance, so only useful thing app provides are easy wire transfers from phone, which I never do, if I wanna transfer money is much more convenient work big display, proper keyboard and mouse than from phone.
  - j_maffe 8mo ago
    That's great for you but unfortunately the overwhelming majority of people do indeed regularly use these features.
  - b00ty4breakfast 8mo ago
    We've cultivated a tech culture that can't stand the slightest inconvenience. People will give up nearly everything if it means avoiding the least bit of effort. We are so boned
    - raw_anon_1111 8mo ago
      So yes if it weren’t for people wanting convenience the “Year of Linux on the Desktop” would have happened 25 years ago. What do you suggest? Everyone carry around their desktop computers and our CRT monitors like we did when we wanted to play Quake with friends?
Aerroon 8mo ago
2FA is a requirement in Europe. I can't log into my bank account without my phone being able to run the app.
- xprnio 8mo ago
  But 2FA is moot if it’s the same device as your bank app, is it not?
  - rightbyte 8mo ago
    Yes. Please tell my bank that.
    - LtWorf 8mo ago
      They know. The EU directive is quite clear that hw tokens are to be preferred over phones. Banks are cheap though and violate it.
    - cuu508 8mo ago
      Switch bank.
  - clhodapp 8mo ago
    It is in the specific case that you don't have biometric or PIN login set up on the device and you use a password manager that doesn't require authentication. In that case, the only factor is "something you have". Otherwise, it is still a multi-factor authentication because the device itself still represents "something you have", and your device unlock represents "something you know" or "something you are".
  - naniwaduni 8mo ago
    Nearly all the security value of 1fa is that it keeps your users from picking the own passwords.
- dheera 8mo ago
  2FA and Google SafetyNet are two completely different things. Your banking app can implement 2FA without SafetyNet.
1vuio0pswjnm7 8mo ago
"I'm am just an outlier here?" No. The "banking app doesn't work" argument against non-corporate mobile OS, raised incessantly is HN comments, is bogus I want a "phone", i.e., small form factor computer, that can run something like NetBSD, or Linux. But I have no intention of using it for commercial transactions. Mobile banking is not why I want to run a non-corporate OS I want to use it for recreation, research and experimentation NB. I have more than one "phone". The choice is not corporate mobile OS versus non-corporate mobile OS, i.e., "either-or". I can use both, each for specific purposes
- EvanAnderson 8mo ago
  > I want a "phone", i.e., small form factor computer, that can run something like NetBSD, or Linux. But I have no intention of using it for commercial transactions. Mobile banking is not why I want to run a non-corporate OS > I want to use it for recreation, research and experimentation I am a firm believer that phones are personal computers and should have all the end user freedom we have come to expect from personal computers. I am totally behind what your saying. (The amount of irrational anger that wells up in me when I hear someone make the argument that phones are somehow not general purpose personal computers and shouldn't provider their owners software freedom would astound you.) Personally, I opt out of services that require the use of phone "apps" and any potential attestation they provide. Unfortunately, I just offload those needs onto my wife and her iPhone. Want to go to a concert in a TicketMaster venue? You have to have a phone. Pay to park in some places requires a phone. Mobile ordering for some restaurants requires a phone. I don't think it should be this way, but it is. I think we need consumer regulation to insure software freedom on phones and curtail awful user hostile "features" like remote attestation. Until that happens (if it ever does) there is a realpolitik with needing corporate phones for some activities that can't be denied.
  - raw_anon_1111 8mo ago
    So the world should cared to your needs when literally almost every adult has a phone even in third world countries? Before you say “what about the poor people” in the US at least, even poor people can get a subsidized free phone through the UCF (?) government fund Also see: no I’m not going to waste development time di you can get to a website I develop with JS disabled or so you can use lynx
dheera 8mo ago
I haven't had issues with the mobile apps of 3 of the most major US brokerages. They run fine on rooted phone. They do everything I'd want a bank to do anyway. Ditch your bank if they have issues. If their retention department asks why you're leaving, tell them their app doesn't work.
- ipdashc 8mo ago
  > Ditch your bank if they have issues. This is what I was thinking as well, TBH. I'm not particularly tied to any of my banks, I already did mostly switch off of BoA because their website was so bad. Good to hear everyone's responses in the thread though, some stuff I definitely didn't consider.
nicoburns 8mo ago
Some banks' only interface is the mobile app. And in Europe people typically use their banking app for P2P payments (no need for an app like Venmo)
jaza 8mo ago
My main bank is Commonwealth aka CBA (one of the "big 4" banks here in Australia). For a long time, I held out against installing their mobile app (on Android), and managed fine with their web UI (and with 2FA codes via SMS). Then, 2 or 3 years ago, I needed to start using PayID (sort-of Australia's version of Venmo, ie free instant transfers, except it's supported directly by all the major banks here). And I discovered that CBA had (deliberately?) only added PayID support to their mobile app, you absolutely can't use it in their web UI (last I checked). So I had to finally relent and install the mobile app. I started out only opening it on the rare occasions when I needed to send money to someone via PayID. Then, a while later, CBA pretty much phased out SMS-based 2FA (or they said that if you had the mobile app installed then you can no longer use it?). Only other supported option is in-app 2FA (no support for third-party TOTP apps). So I had to start opening the mobile app every time I needed a 2FA code. Then, within the last year or so, they made a new rule, that in order to log in to the web UI at all (just initial login, I'm not talking about sending money or any other high-risk action), you had to receive a push notification via the mobile app and tap "allow". So now I literally can't log in to the web UI without also logging in to the mobile app! So, unfortunately, "just keep using the bank's website on desktop" is increasingly and deliberately becoming not an option. I assume there are many similar stories with other banks around the world.
- elitistphoenix 8mo ago
  I paid someone via payid via the web ui. Was via an email address. It was a while ago though and haven't used it since. Also I've never used the app since the blocked rooted devices, magisk stopped working (cause of safetnet) and moved back to sms "security". I just logged in then without having to enter a code. I do note you need to allow browser fingerprinting to allow the login to work. Otherwise it's some generic error. I've made a lot of noise about it so maybe they've "unblocked" me to shut me up. Email the CEO so it registers a complaint. Make some noise. Definitely have another bank though as you can't just depend on one.
- severino 7mo ago
  So, leaving aside the discussion about whether someone wants to use their bank's application or not, what's the bank response if their application just doesn't work in your phone? That you must purchase a new phone or be locked out of using your account? I hope, now that the debate about our excessive reliance on American tech is on the table, that we also put limits on those essential services, like banks, imposing the usage of products from only two companies (Google or Apple) in order to operate. I think that goes at least against the spirit of the European Union.
wilkystyle 8mo ago
You're definitely not alone. I just checked the list of installed apps on my phone and found three different banking apps that I completely forgot about because I never use them. I installed them because I thought it would be convenient for checking things on the go, but I actually just end up using the computer whenever I need to do real banking business. The only finance-related app I use with any regularity is Venmo for e.g. paying back a friend for covering dinner. Another commenter mentioned needing to get alerts for fraud, but none of the financial institutions i'm currently doing business with have any trouble sending me text messages. In fact I have the opposite problem, I can't get them to stop using text for 2FA codes...
WhyNotHugo 8mo ago
Sounds like you’re using Venmo to fill the same role as a banking app (sending and receiving bank transfers). Many other countries simply rely on banking apps for these things, and don’t have a separate service for this kind of transaction. Here in NL many banks (not all) require their iOS or Google app to log into their home banking on a PC/browser.
marcosdumay 8mo ago
> I know banking apps are the typical example, but I've always wondered why. It's because Google created this thing during backroom conversations with bank associations from a handful of countries.
jesterson 8mo ago
Country dependent of course, but recently i observe steady push from banks to adopt mobile app. Some have webui neglected and glitchy, some openly announce sunsetting, some already killed web access only allowing app. And this tendency will prevail as bank can collect way more data this way. Just a month ago one of banks that is often praised here sent me a letter saying “your IP activity doesn’t match your residence” (and i am not even installed their app, they pulled data from web ui usage. Imagine what happens when they get access to data mobile app can supply
noughtnaut 8mo ago
Fair point - but then take national eID apps instead. Take Denmark, for example: most banking apps use eID for login, so that problem translates 1:1. But other apps who do the same include the national school communications platform (which is pretty much mandatory for a huge chunk of the adult population, who need to look at it almost daily). Also: social security card (including health portal/doctor booking/comms), driver's license, bus pass, parking app, used-stuff-marketplace, ... eID is _everywhere_ because it's a good idea. Sure, all of this can be done on a computer. If you're near one. Or you can have separate and physical cards, like we used to have. That still works, mostly: more and more services (eg. bus pass) are going digital-only. Really, what we need is a top-down embrace of open-source-based platforms as being _as_ (or more) secure than the established tech giants. From governments down, organisations _should_ move away from locked-down (foreign) commercial interests. I'm not holding my breath though.
duskdozer 7mo ago
Have you not had a company block you from doing something on the web and force you to use an app for it?
myth2018 7mo ago
> I know banking apps are the typical example, but I've always wondered why My bank uses the app for 2FA, and that became a sort of a standard in Brazil, AFAIK. Mine at least gave me the option of using an RSA SecurID or sth alike when I asked, but I don't know how much it would cost me. My stock broker on the other hand does 2FA exclusively on mobile (and only Android and iOS). The same for the health insurer. My car insurer didn't force me to so far, which I find strange, given their interest in tracking my location and speed. These were some of the major factors leading me to give up on using a feature phone when I tried, a few years ago. It was a good experience, especially at those times of pandemics and political instability, but the inconveniences were many.

by ipdashc 8mo ago

BenjiWiebe 8mo ago

I can't deposit checks over the website, and I use a bank with no physical locations near me.

nradov 8mo ago
That's true, but the notion that we're still using paper checks in 2026 is so crazy. And yet they remain the cheapest way to handle many transactions in the US financial system. Like a lot of small healthcare providers still prefer to receive paper checks from insurance companies because the electronic payment processors take a 3% fee.
- hermanzegerman 8mo ago
  Why won't they just use Bank Transfers? Using Checks or Credit Cards for Payments between companies sounds completely insane and stupid
  - nradov 8mo ago
    Yes, it is completely insane and stupid. Direct bank-to-bank transfers require significant administrative work to set up, and may still incur bank fees. For individual consumer accounts most people can use Zelle but it's not universally available.
    - Synaesthesia 7mo ago
      Funny how South Africa has a way more sophisticated banking network than the USA.
      - hermanzegerman 7mo ago
        I think nearly every other country has instant and free/low-cost bank transfers, without relying on some Apps. I haven't seen a cheque my entire life, and I'm born in the last century

avtolik 8mo ago

Banks often use their app for a second factor auth. here.

edent 8mo ago

My bank sends me an alert when my card is used to make a transaction - handy for spotting fraud. I get an alert when a payment comes it - handy for knowing if a client has paid. I can quickly check my balance - handy for knowing if I can afford another round of drinks. I can repay a friend in two taps - handy if they've paid for dinner. Is anything essential? No. Is it something people use multiple times per day? Yes!

firtoz 8mo ago
Could all of these be handled through openbanking?
- xprnio 8mo ago
  Yes
Markoff 8mo ago
I can get alerts in email or messages, no need dedicated app for that, I can track there also my balance, so only useful thing app provides are easy wire transfers from phone, which I never do, if I wanna transfer money is much more convenient work big display, proper keyboard and mouse than from phone.
- j_maffe 8mo ago
  That's great for you but unfortunately the overwhelming majority of people do indeed regularly use these features.
- b00ty4breakfast 8mo ago
  We've cultivated a tech culture that can't stand the slightest inconvenience. People will give up nearly everything if it means avoiding the least bit of effort. We are so boned
  - raw_anon_1111 8mo ago
    So yes if it weren’t for people wanting convenience the “Year of Linux on the Desktop” would have happened 25 years ago. What do you suggest? Everyone carry around their desktop computers and our CRT monitors like we did when we wanted to play Quake with friends?

Aerroon 8mo ago

2FA is a requirement in Europe. I can't log into my bank account without my phone being able to run the app.

xprnio 8mo ago
But 2FA is moot if it’s the same device as your bank app, is it not?
- rightbyte 8mo ago
  Yes. Please tell my bank that.
  - LtWorf 8mo ago
    They know. The EU directive is quite clear that hw tokens are to be preferred over phones. Banks are cheap though and violate it.
  - cuu508 8mo ago
    Switch bank.
- clhodapp 8mo ago
  It is in the specific case that you don't have biometric or PIN login set up on the device and you use a password manager that doesn't require authentication. In that case, the only factor is "something you have". Otherwise, it is still a multi-factor authentication because the device itself still represents "something you have", and your device unlock represents "something you know" or "something you are".
- naniwaduni 8mo ago
  Nearly all the security value of 1fa is that it keeps your users from picking the own passwords.
dheera 8mo ago
2FA and Google SafetyNet are two completely different things. Your banking app can implement 2FA without SafetyNet.

1vuio0pswjnm7 8mo ago

"I'm am just an outlier here?" No. The "banking app doesn't work" argument against non-corporate mobile OS, raised incessantly is HN comments, is bogus I want a "phone", i.e., small form factor computer, that can run something like NetBSD, or Linux. But I have no intention of using it for commercial transactions. Mobile banking is not why I want to run a non-corporate OS I want to use it for recreation, research and experimentation NB. I have more than one "phone". The choice is not corporate mobile OS versus non-corporate mobile OS, i.e., "either-or". I can use both, each for specific purposes

EvanAnderson 8mo ago
> I want a "phone", i.e., small form factor computer, that can run something like NetBSD, or Linux. But I have no intention of using it for commercial transactions. Mobile banking is not why I want to run a non-corporate OS > I want to use it for recreation, research and experimentation I am a firm believer that phones are personal computers and should have all the end user freedom we have come to expect from personal computers. I am totally behind what your saying. (The amount of irrational anger that wells up in me when I hear someone make the argument that phones are somehow not general purpose personal computers and shouldn't provider their owners software freedom would astound you.) Personally, I opt out of services that require the use of phone "apps" and any potential attestation they provide. Unfortunately, I just offload those needs onto my wife and her iPhone. Want to go to a concert in a TicketMaster venue? You have to have a phone. Pay to park in some places requires a phone. Mobile ordering for some restaurants requires a phone. I don't think it should be this way, but it is. I think we need consumer regulation to insure software freedom on phones and curtail awful user hostile "features" like remote attestation. Until that happens (if it ever does) there is a realpolitik with needing corporate phones for some activities that can't be denied.
- raw_anon_1111 8mo ago
  So the world should cared to your needs when literally almost every adult has a phone even in third world countries? Before you say “what about the poor people” in the US at least, even poor people can get a subsidized free phone through the UCF (?) government fund Also see: no I’m not going to waste development time di you can get to a website I develop with JS disabled or so you can use lynx

dheera 8mo ago

I haven't had issues with the mobile apps of 3 of the most major US brokerages. They run fine on rooted phone. They do everything I'd want a bank to do anyway. Ditch your bank if they have issues. If their retention department asks why you're leaving, tell them their app doesn't work.

ipdashc 8mo ago
> Ditch your bank if they have issues. This is what I was thinking as well, TBH. I'm not particularly tied to any of my banks, I already did mostly switch off of BoA because their website was so bad. Good to hear everyone's responses in the thread though, some stuff I definitely didn't consider.

nicoburns 8mo ago

Some banks' only interface is the mobile app. And in Europe people typically use their banking app for P2P payments (no need for an app like Venmo)

jaza 8mo ago

My main bank is Commonwealth aka CBA (one of the "big 4" banks here in Australia). For a long time, I held out against installing their mobile app (on Android), and managed fine with their web UI (and with 2FA codes via SMS). Then, 2 or 3 years ago, I needed to start using PayID (sort-of Australia's version of Venmo, ie free instant transfers, except it's supported directly by all the major banks here). And I discovered that CBA had (deliberately?) only added PayID support to their mobile app, you absolutely can't use it in their web UI (last I checked). So I had to finally relent and install the mobile app. I started out only opening it on the rare occasions when I needed to send money to someone via PayID. Then, a while later, CBA pretty much phased out SMS-based 2FA (or they said that if you had the mobile app installed then you can no longer use it?). Only other supported option is in-app 2FA (no support for third-party TOTP apps). So I had to start opening the mobile app every time I needed a 2FA code. Then, within the last year or so, they made a new rule, that in order to log in to the web UI at all (just initial login, I'm not talking about sending money or any other high-risk action), you had to receive a push notification via the mobile app and tap "allow". So now I literally can't log in to the web UI without also logging in to the mobile app! So, unfortunately, "just keep using the bank's website on desktop" is increasingly and deliberately becoming not an option. I assume there are many similar stories with other banks around the world.

elitistphoenix 8mo ago
I paid someone via payid via the web ui. Was via an email address. It was a while ago though and haven't used it since. Also I've never used the app since the blocked rooted devices, magisk stopped working (cause of safetnet) and moved back to sms "security". I just logged in then without having to enter a code. I do note you need to allow browser fingerprinting to allow the login to work. Otherwise it's some generic error. I've made a lot of noise about it so maybe they've "unblocked" me to shut me up. Email the CEO so it registers a complaint. Make some noise. Definitely have another bank though as you can't just depend on one.
severino 7mo ago
So, leaving aside the discussion about whether someone wants to use their bank's application or not, what's the bank response if their application just doesn't work in your phone? That you must purchase a new phone or be locked out of using your account? I hope, now that the debate about our excessive reliance on American tech is on the table, that we also put limits on those essential services, like banks, imposing the usage of products from only two companies (Google or Apple) in order to operate. I think that goes at least against the spirit of the European Union.

wilkystyle 8mo ago

You're definitely not alone. I just checked the list of installed apps on my phone and found three different banking apps that I completely forgot about because I never use them. I installed them because I thought it would be convenient for checking things on the go, but I actually just end up using the computer whenever I need to do real banking business. The only finance-related app I use with any regularity is Venmo for e.g. paying back a friend for covering dinner. Another commenter mentioned needing to get alerts for fraud, but none of the financial institutions i'm currently doing business with have any trouble sending me text messages. In fact I have the opposite problem, I can't get them to stop using text for 2FA codes...

WhyNotHugo 8mo ago

Sounds like you’re using Venmo to fill the same role as a banking app (sending and receiving bank transfers). Many other countries simply rely on banking apps for these things, and don’t have a separate service for this kind of transaction. Here in NL many banks (not all) require their iOS or Google app to log into their home banking on a PC/browser.

marcosdumay 8mo ago

> I know banking apps are the typical example, but I've always wondered why. It's because Google created this thing during backroom conversations with bank associations from a handful of countries.

jesterson 8mo ago

Country dependent of course, but recently i observe steady push from banks to adopt mobile app. Some have webui neglected and glitchy, some openly announce sunsetting, some already killed web access only allowing app. And this tendency will prevail as bank can collect way more data this way. Just a month ago one of banks that is often praised here sent me a letter saying “your IP activity doesn’t match your residence” (and i am not even installed their app, they pulled data from web ui usage. Imagine what happens when they get access to data mobile app can supply

noughtnaut 8mo ago

Fair point - but then take national eID apps instead. Take Denmark, for example: most banking apps use eID for login, so that problem translates 1:1. But other apps who do the same include the national school communications platform (which is pretty much mandatory for a huge chunk of the adult population, who need to look at it almost daily). Also: social security card (including health portal/doctor booking/comms), driver's license, bus pass, parking app, used-stuff-marketplace, ... eID is _everywhere_ because it's a good idea. Sure, all of this can be done on a computer. If you're near one. Or you can have separate and physical cards, like we used to have. That still works, mostly: more and more services (eg. bus pass) are going digital-only. Really, what we need is a top-down embrace of open-source-based platforms as being _as_ (or more) secure than the established tech giants. From governments down, organisations _should_ move away from locked-down (foreign) commercial interests. I'm not holding my breath though.

duskdozer 7mo ago

Have you not had a company block you from doing something on the web and force you to use an app for it?

myth2018 7mo ago

> I know banking apps are the typical example, but I've always wondered why My bank uses the app for 2FA, and that became a sort of a standard in Brazil, AFAIK. Mine at least gave me the option of using an RSA SecurID or sth alike when I asked, but I don't know how much it would cost me. My stock broker on the other hand does 2FA exclusively on mobile (and only Android and iOS). The same for the health insurer. My car insurer didn't force me to so far, which I find strange, given their interest in tracking my location and speed. These were some of the major factors leading me to give up on using a feature phone when I tried, a few years ago. It was a good experience, especially at those times of pandemics and political instability, but the inconveniences were many.