Push towards banking apps

Bridlington1

wmb194 said:

subjecttocontract said:

phillw said:

FFHillbilly said:
with an attitude like this you will likely be denying yourself more and more services, this is the way the world is going.

In a couple of years, 4G phones will soon be the the oldest ones working in the UK as 2G & 3G are being retired.

So even the "I have a mobile phone, I don't have a smart phone" people will either have to get a smart phone or do without a mobile phone.

My 4 year old smart phone is hanging in there still.

In that case I will probably give up the mobile phone. Did you know it's entirely possible to live without one ?

Given that so many banks, online credit card payments and other sites, companies and organisations rely on OTP text messages I doubt it.

Though to be fair, many of those will send OTPs to a landline, e.g. TSB and others, such as HSBC, Natwest, RBS, Virgin Money will let you log into online banking with a card reader/security token.

I personally have no desire to be hooked up to the internet at all times and regularly have days out etc without taking any sort of phone with me. If it wasn't for OTPs and banking apps I probably wouldn't bother with a mobile phone full stop.

I tend to look at this issue with a cost vs benefit approach. In spring 2022 I had no smartphone, just a standard talk & text phone for the sake of OTPs, but since the £150 RBS switch offer required me to log into the app, I considered it worth buying a £30 smartphone to grab the £150. Plus since Natwest and RBS give me £1 each for logging into the app each month, that would pay for the phone in itself after 15 months without the switching offer. If on the other hand the cheapest phone I could get cost £300, I likely wouldn't have bothered as the financial gain from having the phone would probably not cover the cost of the smartphone itself.

Rob5342

Yorkie006 said:

Band7 said:

Zanderman said:
I like to change my phone to a more current model every 2-3 years

Banks need to be accessible to everyone, not just to those well off enough to buy a new phone every few years (not to mention older, disabled and vulnerable people who may not be able to use apps even if they had them).

Phone's aren't that expensive now. You don't need the latest and greatest, you just need to get a second hand one when support is dropped for your current one. As an Giffgaff have a refurbished Xiaomi Redmi 9AT for £69 which might keep you going for a couple of years.

Cost should be viewed in context, £34.50 per year is a lot less than the £250 or so having a landline would cost you, and probably similar to the petrol and parking cost of going to a bank brance one a month. Older people aren't complete idiots and are often perfectly happy with apps, I have relative in their 80s who use all the time with no problems. Don't forget that apps can help elderly and disabled people too. My grandmother went into a care home and had trouble getting out anywhere, so my Dad installed the app for her bank on his ipad and took it in for her every week so she could manage her finances. There is lots that can be done with apps to help make them accessible, Natwest for example have an accessible app and offer video banking too.

brianposter

A few months ago I wanted a Barclaycard rewards card to take to South Africa to cover the spending for a group of people.

After spending several hours on the computer and on the phone it transpired that the card was only available via the app.

Result was that we used Revolut (despite their poor reputation) on someone else"s phone.

Band7

brianposter said:

A few months ago I wanted a Barclaycard rewards card to take to South Africa to cover the spending for a group of people.

After spending several hours on the computer and on the phone it transpired that the card was only available via the app.

Result was that we used Revolut (despite their poor reputation) on someone else"s phone.

The irony here is that Revolut is app only.

Band7

No mention of Post Office banking services, which would probably ideal for this customer. Assuming there is a post office near where he lives.

phillw

subjecttocontract said:
In that case I will probably give up the mobile phone. Did you know it's entirely possible to live without one ?

And you can live in a tent in the woods, it doesn't mean I'd want to.

But good luck with that.

subjecttocontract

Well thats very kind of you to let me know that you don't like tents. I'm not suggesting smart phones aren't suitable for everyone but we are all different and have freedom of choice. Like you, I'd prefer to exercise that freedom when it suits me.

GrahamLM52

Bridlington1 said:

Though to be fair, many of those will send OTPs to a landline, e.g. TSB and others, such as HSBC, Natwest, RBS, Virgin Money will let you log into online banking with a card reader/security token.

The new fibre-optic cable system (Openreach "Digital Voice") that is gradually replacing the old copper telephone cables does not support SMS text messaging, so you wont be able to receive a text message on your land line.

The target is to have changed ALL of the UK's copper telephone cables to fibre-optic by the end of 2025. So anyone relying on SMS text messages being sent to their land line will need to consider an alternative such as an on-line SMS message service after 2025.

Zanderman

GrahamLM52 said:

Bridlington1 said:

Though to be fair, many of those will send OTPs to a landline, e.g. TSB and others, such as HSBC, Natwest, RBS, Virgin Money will let you log into online banking with a card reader/security token.

The new fibre-optic cable system (Openreach "Digital Voice") that is gradually replacing the old copper telephone cables does not support SMS text messaging, so you wont be able to receive a text message on your land line.

The target is to have changed ALL of the UK's copper telephone cables to fibre-optic by the end of 2025. So anyone relying on SMS text messages being sent to their land line will need to consider an alternative such as an on-line SMS message service after 2025.

That is, as I understand it, incorrect.  Digital voice does not support outgoing text messages.  But it still supports incoming text messages. So, on my understanding, it is wrong (and a little bit scaremongering) to say that landlines won't receive text messages after 2025.

GrahamLM52

Zanderman said:

GrahamLM52 said:

Bridlington1 said:

Though to be fair, many of those will send OTPs to a landline, e.g. TSB and others, such as HSBC, Natwest, RBS, Virgin Money will let you log into online banking with a card reader/security token.

The new fibre-optic cable system (Openreach "Digital Voice") that is gradually replacing the old copper telephone cables does not support SMS text messaging, so you wont be able to receive a text message on your land line.

The target is to have changed ALL of the UK's copper telephone cables to fibre-optic by the end of 2025. So anyone relying on SMS text messages being sent to their land line will need to consider an alternative such as an on-line SMS message service after 2025.

That is, as I understand it, incorrect.  Digital voice does not support outgoing text messages.  But it still supports incoming text messages. So, on my understanding, it is wrong (and a little bit scaremongering) to say that landlines won't receive text messages after 2025.

My apologies, I did not mean to be scaremongering. When I upgraded to Digital Voice all my text messages stopped working - both inbound and outbound. I contacted BT's customer support and they told me that Digital Voice did not support SMS text messaging (the actual quote from BT was "That facility is no longer available on BT Digital Voice". It seems that I was incorrectly advised and Digital Voice can receive inbound SMS text messages.