Mobile phone for banking purposes

GaleSF63

jbrassy said:

TuppenceHapenny said:

I've never had a mobile phone and know very little about them, only ever had a landline phone. 

🤯 - mind blown!

I know people who have never had a  mobile phone.
I know people who have no mobile signal where they live.
I know people who have had a phone but no longer do. 

Some people only have what they need - others get what they want. 
I have a basic mobile, and at present don't need anything else. If/when I do, I'll get it. 
I've had a mobile phone for 28 years.  It's had busy periods and quiet periods.  Wouldn't be without it in the car in case of breakdown, and a hospital stay; these days it is increasingly used as well for receiving OTPs.

But my life is no doubt very different from yours, and is run in a completely different way. There is room for all of us!

fenwick458

Which banks require you to have an app to get a benefit?
I use several other phones just for receiving OTP's and delivery messages, sim cards cost 20p, and have plently of old basic phones to use,  and none of them have credit on them, you don't need credit to receive a text.
and If there was a bank that required you to use their app, you don't actually need a simcard for that, you could just use it on your wifi network, using a basic smartphone, even the cheapest £20-30 smartphones will run banking apps

colsten

fenwick458 said:

Which banks require you to have an app to get a benefit?

Natwest and RBS pay a pound a month per Reward account if the app is used. Virgin have a Regular Saver which officially only works for people using one of their apps. There might be others.

colsten

fenwick458 said:

, even the cheapest £20-30 smartphones will run banking apps

That doesn‘t apply to all banking apps

colsten

j.p said:

Getting a smart phone to install bank apps is a one-way street. You can get in, but you can't get out.
The smart phone will reach a point it can't accept any more system updates, because new Operating System versions will not download or not fit in it - because the smart phone "hardware", outdated, will become a constraint to the OS - and then you'll hit the next constraint: new versions of the bank app won't download on your phone because they require at least a certain version of the Operating System.
The trap is that if you want to keep using apps, every couple of years you have to keep upgrading your phone. That is not cheap. Even if you got a cheap smart phone buying another one is not cheap - it all adds up.
Sure, the same can happen with desktop computers, but more slowly. You can see Windows XP has lasted for ages, only a couple of years ago retiring (and some can still use it), Windows 7 has been around for ages also, and Windows 10 will be around for probably 10 years. While I don't think any current smart phone will even be working in 10 years. Or it will work, but be able to connect to hardly anything (any sites, least of all banking apps).
I say no to apps. I know I miss out on some things. And know I look old-fashioned.
I don't care. I'm not falling into that trap.

If you used the smartphone for banking apps only, I would agree that it would be somewhat of a waste of money. There are tons of other things a smartphone (or a tablet) can be used for, though, and then it becomes a no-brainer to also use it for banking apps.

st999

I do all my banking on my computer, except for HSBC which needs either a dongle or an app.

For HSBC I use an Android tablet to get a OTC to sign on to the HSBC web page on my computer.

I also have all the other banking apps on my tablet but mostly use my computer.

I don't use a smart phone for my banking because the phone is too bloody small for my eyesight and fingers 

TuppenceHapenny

Thanks for all replies, it's been very helpful.

I'm inclined now to follow Colsten's implied advice and forget about smart phones and just get a basic phone. I would expect it to stay next to my computer and be used only to receive the security code sent to allow online login (and to allow me to enter a legitimate mobile phone number during the account application process).

Am I right to think the phone needs a (PAYG) sim card in it to work but if the phone is only being used to receive text messages the sim card doesn't need any credit? Or will I have to periodically send a text to stop the sim card from being deactivated by the network provider?

General_Grant

fenwick458 said:

Which banks require you to have an app to get a benefit?
I use several other phones just for receiving OTP's and delivery messages, sim cards cost 20p, and have plently of old basic phones to use,  and none of them have credit on them, you don't need credit to receive a text.
and If there was a bank that required you to use their app, you don't actually need a simcard for that, you could just use it on your wifi network, using a basic smartphone, even the cheapest £20-30 smartphones will run banking apps

I wish my basic mobile would receive OTPs from banks.  Those sent by 3 different banks are not getting through at the moment though were working up to a couple of weeks ago.

General_Grant

TuppenceHapenny said:

. . .

Am I right to think the phone needs a (PAYG) sim card in it to work but if the phone is only being used to receive text messages the sim card doesn't need any credit? Or will I have to periodically send a text to stop the sim card from being deactivated by the network provider?

I think I have to send, as a minimum, a text (about 2p) every couple of months in order to keep the service.

colsten

TuppenceHapenny said:

I'm inclined now to follow Colsten's implied advice and forget about smart phones and just get a basic phone. I would expect it to stay next to my computer and be used only to receive the security code sent to allow online login (and to allow me to enter a legitimate mobile phone number during the account application process).

I wasn't meant to suggest a dumb mobile - I just said don't expect the benefits from using a mobile for banking to pay for a smartphone that is capable of running bank apps.

If you opt for a dumb phone, you are limiting your choice of banks, offers and/or functionality. It is possible that eligibility for offers includes the use of the bank's app.

To receive texts, and if you have WiFi, you don't need a SIM card. If you don't have WiFi, you need a SIM, and a PAYG one with minimum balance should do the job. 
Note that not all banks send texts. For example, Lloyds, Halifax, BoS, Coventry make a voice call. I think at present, these are still offering a choice of landline or mobile for their calls. Santander, Shawbrook send text massages with codes. For others, you must use their banking, or an authentication app (which won't work on dumb mobiles).


I should have mentioned that an alternative to smartphone is a tablet (such as an iPad) - and with a tablet, you could probably even do away with your laptop, as the display is (/can be) nearly as large as a laptop, so you can continue to use your favourite browser.