Banking apps?

Frank99

Is it safe to have all of my credit card accounts and banking apps on my smartphone, i read an article claiming apps are probably safer than browsers and i have one on my phone that i use most often although i don't access my credit card accounts through apps just yet, i suppose I'm still a bit weary.

I notice it is more convenient to check your account via an app if your short of time but i'm not sure if to get all of them in app form.

Frank99

Apologies if this is the wrong thread!

Daliah

Provided you use your smartphone with basic security precautions, app banking will be at least as safe as online banking. You are likely to find it a lot more convenient, too, as you can use biometrics to identify yourself for logins and approvals.

You have to have one or more fallback options if you can't access your phone, similar to the fallback options you need for online banking. For example, have the apps also on a tablet, or simply have a readily accessible list of phone numbers if you need to ring your banks.

AskAsk

as long as you lock your phone, the app will be fine.  i have my bank and credit card and investment platform and pretty much everything else on my phone and it is fine.  i find it  is easier than using websites as it doesn't need to send you OTP as it is already registered to your phone.

anotheruser

Here's some thoughts:

1) If you can create a shortcut to NFC, I always have this off until I come to want to use my card for something.

2) Banking apps can only be accessed via a password or fingerprint - the latter being one of the most secure methods of verification at this moment in time.

3) I've added my cards to Google Pay.  If this wasn't very secure and people were losing money left, right and centre, you would have heard about it on the news and each company would have suspended the apps.

4) It's the same with contactless cards.  Fraud by people tapping your !!!!!! is so tiny, it doesn't make the news.  I haven't heard of a single story where someone has had this done and the bank hasn't just refunded them.

5) Starling Bank gives me a notification whenever I spend on my card, which helps with any potential fraud.  I get more annoyed by those notifications than I am worried about fraud through banking apps on phones.

Teapot55

Deleted_User said:

Frank99 said:

Is it safe to have all of my credit card accounts and banking apps on my smartphone, i read an article claiming apps are probably safer than browsers and i have one on my phone that i use most often although i don't access my credit card accounts through apps just yet, i suppose I'm still a bit weary.

I agree that I too get weary using mobile apps. The problem is that I find the tiny keyboards a bit wearisome and it's less tiring to use the full-sized keyboard of a PC.

It might be an idea to check the settings (Display & Brightness?) on your phone & fine-tune them to what suits you best. 

Sensory

The only warning of note, which is rare but not outside the realm of theoretical possibility (it can and has happened and not just in movies), is if you are ever unconscious and someone else has access to your phone, they can forcibly use your biometrics to get through security, because a lot of apps use biometric security in place of knowledge-based security. Enabling "Require Attention" is important for Face ID, although Touch ID has no method of making it more secure.

Ergates

Sensory said:

The only warning of note, which is rare but not outside the realm of theoretical possibility (it can and has happened and not just in movies), is if you are ever unconscious and someone else has access to your phone, they can forcibly use your biometrics to get through security, because a lot of apps use biometric security in place of knowledge-based security. Enabling "Require Attention" is important for Face ID, although Touch ID has no method of making it more secure.

Whilst this is true - if you're unconscious in the presence of someone with malicious intent then you have bigger things to worry about than them accessing your banking app.  If they've managed to isolate you and render you unconscious and all they want is your money, let them have it.

Sensory

Ergates said:

Sensory said:

The only warning of note, which is rare but not outside the realm of theoretical possibility (it can and has happened and not just in movies), is if you are ever unconscious and someone else has access to your phone, they can forcibly use your biometrics to get through security, because a lot of apps use biometric security in place of knowledge-based security. Enabling "Require Attention" is important for Face ID, although Touch ID has no method of making it more secure.

Whilst this is true - if you're unconscious in the presence of someone with malicious intent then you have bigger things to worry about than them accessing your banking app.  If they've managed to isolate you and render you unconscious and all they want is your money, let them have it.

It's about risk mitigation. For whatever reason, you could be unconscious (not necessarily coerced), which could present an opportunity for those wishing to exploit it. For example, I do have a close friend who was drugged on a night out, but thankfully otherwise harmed (after a medical examination). Their phone was accessed by the perpetrator to respond to messages asking where they were etc. but there was technically nothing to stop finance apps from being accessed (Touch ID) to set up transfers to a mule account. The phone was never recovered but hopefully the remote wipe activated in time.

gsmh

anotheruser said:

Here's some thoughts:

1) If you can create a shortcut to NFC, I always have this off until I come to want to use my card for something.

2) Banking apps can only be accessed via a password or fingerprint - the latter being one of the most secure methods of verification at this moment in time.

3) I've added my cards to Google Pay.  If this wasn't very secure and people were losing money left, right and centre, you would have heard about it on the news and each company would have suspended the apps.

4) It's the same with contactless cards.  Fraud by people tapping your !!!!!! is so tiny, it doesn't make the news.  I haven't heard of a single story where someone has had this done and the bank hasn't just refunded them.

5) Starling Bank gives me a notification whenever I spend on my card, which helps with any potential fraud.  I get more annoyed by those notifications than I am worried about fraud through banking apps on phones.

What you have said applies to Android phones. Apple iPhones since version 10 use FaceID which is apparently more secure than a fingerprint. Also, your iPhone requires you to login (using FaceID, or TouchID for older iPhones) before you can make any NFC transaction - unlike Android where you don't need to login for smaller amounts.

The iPhone banking apps are more secure than those on a computer because biometric authentication is the norm so not only will an imposter need to get past the biometric login to the phone, they will also need to get past the biometric login for the banking app.

I prefer using a computer banking app, but it is convenient using my phone when I'm out and about of want to check something quickly since all I have to do is look at the display and I'm in.