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Original poster

To close my bank account over this?

129 replies

tenlittlecygnets · 25/06/2019 20:54

Am with Santander. They want all customers to download a banking app and use that in future. Their app is not compatible with a desktop pc.

I don’t want to access my bank accounts by phone.my phone is ancient and I have a pc.

Can anyone recommend a bank? I need to access my accounts via computer, not app.

Honestly.

OP posts:
scaryteacher · 26/06/2019 00:06

ThePants It's the assumption that everyone has a mobile that irks me. Yes, I have one, but I can't always remember where I put it, or if it is charged.

The banks who don't send out the gadgets for authentication should bite the bullet and do so. I'm far more likely to know where that is than my mobile.

malmi · 26/06/2019 00:17

Err, just pretend that your mobile is a gadget that the bank sent you for authentication then.

scaryteacher · 26/06/2019 00:43

That doesn't work, as the gadget is either in my desk drawer, or packed for when I travel. The mobile could be on the kitchen table, in one of my various and many bags, in the car, in dh's car, down the back of the sofa.

The gadget doesn't need charging either!

soulrunner · 26/06/2019 02:02

But scary, banks design for the 99% not the 1%. You must appreciate that you are very unusual to not regularly use a mobile phone, unless you're over 80?

Apps are more secure than hard tokens because

  1. Increasing number of mobile phones have Face ID so provide an extra layer of security.
  2. Even if the phone doesn't have face ID, it probably has a different unlock password to the password app itself.
  3. Even if the person is dumb enough to have 123456 as all their passwords and pins, it's still no worse than them having the token.
Fleetheart · 26/06/2019 02:09

First direct is the one to go with. 100%. App used for security, but website excellent.

GrasswillbeGreener · 26/06/2019 06:34

I'm not happy about this. I do now have a smart phone but only recently. I don't want to be logging on to my bank account on my phone which this does sound like it will force me to do to an extent. I've found getting onto internet banking stressful enough as it is!!

My elderly mother is supposed to be returning to the UK. She has a rural cottage without phone / little mobile signal at present. Now we know we're going to have to get internet access set up once she's there full time, but she will be extremely reluctant to get a smart phone at this point. Too hard to see and too hard to operate - this sort of thing can make the difference between being fully independent and quite vulnerable. Where she is now she has had arguments over the phone with several institutions who are completely unable to understand "I do not have a mobile phone".

QueenBeee · 26/06/2019 06:37

Is it because they've just got hold of your iphone number and realise you could be using that?

WhiteDust · 26/06/2019 06:43

I don't use apps for online banking.
I thought this was just an option.
Seems crazy to alienate anyone without a smartphone.

fuzzyduck1 · 26/06/2019 07:39

Coop is nice and simple

Original poster
tenlittlecygnets · 26/06/2019 07:49

In Belgium, ING have given us devices that you stick your card in and it then provides a code after you have input your PIN. Works well...why can't the banks in UK do that?

They do. HSBC has done this for years.

Thanks all. So, a regulatory issue. Still don't see why an app is more secure...

OP posts:
Original poster
tenlittlecygnets · 26/06/2019 07:51

Thanks, soulrunner and thepants for your explanations. I guess it makes sense.

But what about older people and people who aren't keen on technology - my parents, for example - what will they do?

OP posts:
Yabbers · 26/06/2019 08:07

Santander has just tweeted me to say I will need a phone or device that’s compatible with their app.

If you want to use the app. Not in order to access your account. Santander to not force people to use the app. Their policies are the same as every other bank so moving because you don’t like to use tech isn’t going to help you.

Yabbers · 26/06/2019 08:11

But what about older people and people who aren't keen on technology - my parents, for example - what will they do?

My 96 year old grandma used tech. My parents and in-laws in their mid 70s use it. Stop with this ridiculous “oh but old people don’t do tech” nonsense. Such an outdated view.

The last person I heard complain about tech was a 45 year old who kept bleating on about how everyone should go off grid and robots would take over the world.

tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz · 26/06/2019 08:13

I think that 45 year old is on to something though, haven't you seen Terminator?!! >adjusts tin hat

nickymanchester · 26/06/2019 08:21

Metro Bank use two different passwords so you've got to remember both of them.

I also use Barclays and I actually like the way they do it. They give you a little card reader which is exactly the same as the one they use in branches to identify people.

How it works is that you put your debit card in the card reader and enter your pin it then generates an eight digit number that you then have to enter.

This same method is used for both internet banking and in branch as well.

FloydWasACat · 26/06/2019 08:49

Yep, same from Lloyd's too. It is because of new legal regulations, all of the banks have to comply

NauseousMum · 26/06/2019 09:23

How old is your PC? Some can download desktop apps so this could be an option.

nickymanchester · 26/06/2019 09:36

NauseousMum has a good point however not all apps will work.

But you can also get android emulators that mimic phones.

The one I use is called BlueStacks, I just open it up and can download and use any android app. I mainly use it with HMRC and other government websites that require a similar authentication.

Although I must admit that I did also download the Love Island app onto it as well. Blush

needsomesleepy · 26/06/2019 09:42

But what about older people and people who aren't keen on technology - my parents, for example - what will they do?

Well if they don't use tech it wont affect them will it?

HariboLectar · 26/06/2019 09:51

Switch accounts - some very good switching offers available at the mo www.moneysupermarket.com/current-accounts/?From=SHP-icons

HariboLectar · 26/06/2019 09:55

HSBC and RBS also doing £175 but not come up on the above.

HariboLectar · 26/06/2019 09:58

@scaryteacher

In Belgium, ING have given us devices that you stick your card in and it then provides a code after you have input your PIN. Works well...why can't the banks in UK do that?^

I have a card reader device with my Nationwide account.

PettyContractor · 26/06/2019 09:59

Still don't see why an app is more secure...

To access your account online, someone needs to know your PIN, and you password.

To access your account from a mobile, someone needs to know your PIN, and have in their a hand a phone that will ring when your mobile number is dialed.

The second is more difficult.

PettyContractor · 26/06/2019 10:03

There is a new feature appearing in Windows 10 that will allow you to use your PC as a terminal to access your Android mobile apps. So if it's using touchscreens that puts you off mobile banking, and you're a Windows and Android user, you should one day soon be able to use a keyboard and mouse to drive your mobile apps. (Currently only a handful of android models supported, hopefully will be expanded to most.)

scaryteacher · 26/06/2019 10:07

Soulrunner I have a mobile, but I don't use it much as I use the landline. My mobile is not a smartphone as I don't need one. I'm 53, and I can't be that unusual in not using a mobile that often. I take it with me if I'm travelling, but frequently go out without it on a day to day basis.

Ds has offered me one his cast offs, but I am not interested.