Virgin Money Credit Card - No online access without app

Dusty-Bin_2

Well, finally I lost the use of the app on 5th June, when the requirement changed to Android 9.
Went to website only to find there is no access using web browser at all.
The only option, now, seems to be by telephone, and that takes quite a while to get through security and all the option menus.  This is the only financial institution I have accounts with that does not provide online access without app.
It wil probably lead me to cancel, but I'll give it a go for a while longer before making a final decision.

MattMattMattUK

Dusty-Bin_2 said:

Well, finally I lost the use of the app on 5th June, when the requirement changed to Android 9.
Went to website only to find there is no access using web browser at all.
The only option, now, seems to be by telephone, and that takes quite a while to get through security and all the option menus.  This is the only financial institution I have accounts with that does not provide online access without app.
It wil probably lead me to cancel, but I'll give it a go for a while longer before making a final decision.

If it is a good account then closing will probably not be the best choice, especially as many are moving to apps for 2FA rather than text messaging so they will be required for nearly all in the next few years. Any phone not running Android 9 must also be very old and will not have been receiving security updates for a long time so should be replaced, but could be done so for probably no more than £150.

born_again

I think you will find that many banks will no support Android 9 in their apps.

So your best option is to upgrade phone.
 Due to if you find one that does, they will soon drop support as Android 9 no longer receives any updates from back in Jan 22. So is a security risk.

35har1old

Dusty-Bin_2 said:

Well, finally I lost the use of the app on 5th June, when the requirement changed to Android 9.
Went to website only to find there is no access using web browser at all.
The only option, now, seems to be by telephone, and that takes quite a while to get through security and all the option menus.  This is the only financial institution I have accounts with that does not provide online access without app.
It wil probably lead me to cancel, but I'll give it a go for a while longer before making a final decision.

Must only apply to the credit card

Dusty-Bin_2

Yes - I understand why they stop supporting older android phones because of thesecurity issue.  My main point is: why they cannot provide alternative web based online access as most, if not all, others do?

The 5th June date did apply just to the VM CC app.  I lost the VM banking app a while back, but there is an alternative web online portal for that and so hasn't really been much of an issue for me.

born_again

Maybe it has more to do with Nationwide buying Virgin & they will want to somehow integrate the 2 systems. So it will not be cost effective to change to a web based system on virgin system for credit cards.

username

born_again said:

Maybe it has more to do with Nationwide buying Virgin & they will want to somehow integrate the 2 systems. So it will not be cost effective to change to a web based system on virgin system for credit cards.

I'd be inclined to say poor planning on Virgin Money's part, before they were bought out. This happened some years back before the transaction and it was my first foray into an app-only account.

Needless to say I've not been particularly endeared to the whole app-only experience, with the app having a number of issues from time to time, such as losing all of the transaction history periodically (it is an issue their end as my internet connection is fine), a number of updates causing it to crash upon startup and needing deleting and reinstallation. The quality control is poor on its releases.

I'm just looking for the ideal time to divest the Virgin airmiles I have amassed and will likely close the account.

You can have paper statements sent to your address if you so wish, that has been the main way of me managing my account. Online/app was only just a channel.

prettyandfluffy

I've had a Virgin credit card for a long time and never had problems with the app.  It's likely that the issues you describe are due to your phone operating system not being up to date.

MDMD

born_again said:

Maybe it has more to do with Nationwide buying Virgin & they will want to somehow integrate the 2 systems. So it will not be cost effective to change to a web based system on virgin system for credit cards.

Nothing to do with Nationwide. The website access was removed in 2022

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/mar/09/i-cant-manage-my-virgin-credit-card-account-without-a-smartphone

IanManc

MDMD said:

born_again said:

Maybe it has more to do with Nationwide buying Virgin & they will want to somehow integrate the 2 systems. So it will not be cost effective to change to a web based system on virgin system for credit cards.

Nothing to do with Nationwide. The website access was removed in 2022

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/mar/09/i-cant-manage-my-virgin-credit-card-account-without-a-smartphone

Virgin Money ended online access to credit card accounts on 31 January 2021:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2021/01/virgin-money-shuts-online-credit-card-services/

You're right, it was nothing to do with Nationwide - just a cost cutting business decision by Virgin Money.