Banking on a Chromebook

GeoffTF

I have bought a shining new HP Chromebook. So far, I have been able to log into the financial accounts that I have tested via the Chromebook's browser. The "application launcher for drive (by google)" extension caused problems with Nationwide, but I do not think I need that. I also had a mysterious glitch with Vanguard, but that seems to have gone away. Modern Chromebooks are able to run Android apps. Has anyone tried to run banking apps on a Chromebook?

retiredbanker1

Would you not be better using their web links for your Chromebook?

Keep the apps for your phone?

That's what I would do.

GeoffTF

retiredbanker1 said:

Would you not be better using their web links for your Chromebook?

Keep the apps for your phone?

That's what I would do.

I do not want apps on a phone that is at risk of being lost or stolen and has not received security updates for years. If I am going to use banking apps, I would rather have them on a more secure dedicated device that is kept locked away at home. I want to put as many layers of defence as I can between the bad guys and my money.

flaneurs_lobster

Does your Chromebook have biometric protection - fingerprint reader and/or face recognition?

If you do get a bank app fired up I'd be interested to find out if they work OK with the app.

GeoffTF

flaneurs_lobster said:

Does your Chromebook have biometric protection - fingerprint reader and/or face recognition?

If you do get a bank app fired up I'd be interested to find out if they work OK with the app.

My £159 Chromebook does not have a fingerprint reader. Some do, but external fingerprint readers are not supported. The banking apps that I have tried all allow a PIN to be used when the fingerprint test fails. A fingerprint reader is a convenience for faster access. My Chromebook does have a camera which could be used for facial recognition. Nationwide allows facial recognition to be used as an alternative to the card reader for some functions. No thanks. The card reader should be safer.

No practical computer system is completely invulnerable. If you get malware that has root permission, it can do anything on your device. It could change the banking app code to disable authentication, for example. Lots of vulnerabilities that can escalate privileges have been discovered, and there are no doubt many that remain to be discovered. Most of these vulnerabilities never get targeted by malware. There is a lot you can do to make it very difficult for malware to get onto your device, and limit the damage if it does.

sausage_time

If you have tried some bank Android apps and they work on your Chromebook people may find it useful to see them listed here (If you are comfortable doing so).  And of course any caveats or ones that won't fly.

GeoffTF

sausage_time said:

If you have tried some bank Android apps and they work on your Chromebook people may find it useful to see them listed here (If you are comfortable doing so).  And of course any caveats or ones that won't fly.

Reports on both successes and failures would be helpful. It would also help to say which Chromebook you were using. Google AI (which gives incorrect answers more often than not) says that some but not all UK banking apps work on some but not all Chromebooks. The Chrome browser should work for online banking with any of the banks, but there can be problems with some extensions and other browser settings.

GeoffTF

I can report a success. The Nationwide app works on an HP 14a-nf0002na 14in Intel N100 4GB 128GB Chromebook. The window takes up all the screen. That results in a big gap between the text on left and the right hand sides of the screen. Everything seems to work fine. I did not have any problem using the app.

I can also report a failure. The Santander UK app is not available in the PlayStore for an HP 14a-nf0002na 14in Intel N100 4GB 128GB Chromebook. My Chromebook is emulating Android 13. That is a lot more than Santander's minimum requirement for Android 9.

One up for the Building Society. One down for the big international bank.