Banking apps on smartphones

tl;dr version:

Your banking app will expire before your phone does, forcing you to change phones just for your "banking app convenience". Your banking app is actually not more convenient than using your bank's browser-based online version with login. Thus, give up some "convenience" in order to have a peace of mind, uninstall banking apps from your phones and extend their life-span by doing so. Also, learn how to use your bank account more efficiently and more powerfully with the online login to your bank, with more control over your banking experience. There are always alternatives: ask your bank how to login without a smartphone. Tell them you do not have a smartphone (even if it is a lie), because no country can legally force you to own a smartphone, so you are not obliged to have one, thus they must have a method for those people without smartphones: explore and use those methods instead. You will a) get rid of the planned obsolescence pressure, b) save money, and c) will have a more powerful banking experience through the banking website, which is always more powerful than their mobile apps. Avoid banks without physical offices, also avoid banks that force you to have a smartphone to gain access to your own account.

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Read on for the LONG VERSION:

Okay, let's face it: you probably don't understand why I would recommend you NOT to use something so central and important to your life, and something that is so convenient, right?

I understand the bewilderment and surprise. Let me explain.

Just like a good Buddhist monk would do, stand back one step, look at the subject, and ask yourself: "WHAT IS THIS?"

Well, your smartphone is what it is: either an iOS (Apple) or Android (Google) operated device. Yes. Those companies have the final say on what you CAN or CANNOT do on those devices. Apple is more restrictive than Google, but at the end of the day, if they do not want you to do something on that device, they will make it extremely difficult for you. Only seasoned hackers can force these systems to obey their will and do what THEY want, not what these companies want you to do.

Okay, so much about the hardware/software environment, your OS (Operating System).

I would normally also advise against using a smartphone altogether: just use a desklap.top (desktop/laptop) PC (Personal Computer), with Linux (which is FOSS, ie Free and Open Source Software) as the operating system (thus NOT Microsoft Windows or Apple MacOS, both being proprietary and closed-source) + use some sort of "dumbphone", that is the best combination to have a peace of mind: each of them will be less restricted and more powerful, and more ergonomic, than any "smartphone". Most importantly, by using these two, you will be less restricted in what you can do, and the ergonomics will be better, too.

Anyway, let us assume for now that you DO possess and use a "smartphone", against above advice. I will argue that using banking software will further cause you trouble down the line, in exchange for some minor conveniences.

1. Planned Obsolescence. Your "smartphone" hardware and software both have "time-bombs" built in. It is not a mistake or error: it is done BY DESIGN. Those companies behind these devices WANT to force you to buy a new device, preferably from themselves, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. That is the harsh economic reality in the capitalist (!) economic system. If you happen to live in a socialist economic system, you can ignore everything in this article and just keep living happily ever after. So, your "smartphone" is probably equipped with a built-in battery (thus not something you can change yourself after it expires), which is very specially made ONLY for that phone, thus they made sure that when time comes to replace it (after X number of charging cycles, which normally last 1-2 years in total, those batteries will physically be useless, they will hold less charge and swell), YOU will NOT be able to easily replace them with a new one. First, there will be no new batteries available exactly in that size, second, even if they exist they will be difficult to find, third, even if you find them, it will take long time for your to get them (shipping), fourth, you won't be able to disassemble your phone yourself, you will need experts to do so, fifth, you will certainly lose your warranty on the phone (which warranty is usually just 1-2 years anyway). The planned obsolescence is built-in in modern devices also on the software level, they work hand-in-hand: your OS (remember: abbriviation for "Operating System") is also planned to expire after some time. Together, your phone hardware + the OS on it, are both PLANNED to expire after AS LITTLE TIME AS possible, for ECONOMIC REASON. Those who made them, want you to go back and buy their new, shiny stuff, even if your old stuff works perfectly. Don't worry: they make sure that whatever you buy, has LIMITED features, so sooner or later you will WANT SOMETHING BETTER. Immoral world? Yeah, if it is capitalism, it is deceitful and immoral, that is the DNA, the backbone of the system. Enjoy.

2. Now you know why I said earlier that you should NOT use any smartphone in the first place, no matter how "convenient" it seems to be first. Yes, that's the lure, that's the deceit, that's the bait for you to get into the eco-system. You want convenience? Then you will be hooked, and you will not have an independent life anymore, you will lose the ability to choose your own future. Anyway. You are already hooked, you are in, you are using these limited, restricted, stupidified devices, called "smartphones". Then, you think you can just install on it whatever software there is out there, right? Wrong. On the Apple side you just cannot install whatever you like: they decide what software you are allowed to install. On the Google side they are a bit less restrictive, but it is changing right now (2025 August), it seems they will be mimicking Apple and close down your options about software, with the explanation that they only want to "protect you against bad people". Yeah, yeah, the usual tricks. Anyway, right now you can still side-load software (thus, install software that is not officially vetted and approved by Google itself). In any case: BANKING SOFTWARE is never side-loaded, it is always distributed officially through Apple and Google's own repositories. Okay, so you take the second bait (first the "smartphone" idea, you accept that, second: the banking app), you convince yourself that it is a good idea to install your bank's banking app on your "smartphone", because your life will be more convenient after that. Good. Let us see what is happening ACTUALLY in the background.

3. Just like your physical phone with its time-bomb battery, with its time-bomb OS, your banking software definitely comes with a time-bomb, too. However: while you can buy a new phone, or install a new OS on your phone: your banking app has NO ALTERNATIVES. There is only one possible way to interact with your banking app: through the official app that your bank issues. This is for security reasons, and there is no problem with it: the bank naturally needs to protect itself against harmful actors. However, this security comes at a price: banking software will expire SOONER than your phone does. Sometimes sooner than your phone hardware or OS does. So, sooner or later (in a couple of years) you will get the message from your banking app: "sorry, we do not support your phone anymore: upgrade your OS, or buy an entirely new phone". So, while your phone works perfectly, and you would wish to keep it longer: your bottleneck will be none other than your BANKING APP, it will be the first one to FORCE YOU to change your "smartphone". Not nice.

4. Thus, now you understand why I recommend you not to go down that lane in the first place. So, what can you do instead? Ask your bank about alternatives how to interact with your bank account. Most of them will have a WEBSITE with login possibilities to your account. If so, then remember my first advice above? Yes, you should have a desk/laptop with a proper, free and unrestricted Linux on it, with a proper, free, newest browser installed on it, and use that BROWSER to open the WEBSITE of the bank, and LOG IN. Now, for login, more and more banks insist that you login with your "smartphone". Well, tell them you HAVE NO SMARTPHONE, and you need alternative ways to log in to your account. If they have one, use those alternative methods. If they do not have any alternative (ie. they FORCE YOU TO USE A SMARTPHONE), tell them that AFAYK (As Far As You Know) it is NOT COMPULSORY to possess a smartphone, thus they MUST have an alternative way for you to use your bank account electronically through their website WITHOUT a smartphone. If your bank is so restrictive that the ONLY way for you to handle your own account is either a) going to their office in person or b) possess a smartphone against your will, then CHOOSE ANOTHER BANK. A bank that is so restrictive is not a good bank: change to a better bank. If in your country there is no bank that has an online login with alternative methods (these are either SMS sent to your registered phone number, or a dedicated device where you stick in your bank card and get a unique login code every time you login), then you live in the wrong country: you should think about your situation why you have chosen to live in a country where the government is colluding with the banks to force you to have a smartphone. It should NOT be the case, so you can safely assume that a) if you insist on alternative logins, your bank will cave and give you that possibility after all, or b) there will be a nicer bank where you can switch to which has such options.

5. So, even if you are already "on the wrong track" and have a "smartphone" and got sucked into that harmful eco-system and spend money unnecessarily on "convenience" that is actually sugarcoated slavery, there should be ways for your to get out of the "banking app" vortex, and claim back your life.

Hope it helps, and enjoy your path to your own personal freedom. Peace