talk to me about banking apps

[greenelephantscarf]

my bank is stopping internet banking.
instead they want me to use an app.

how secure are they?
I guess I don't really have an alternative...

You do - change banks

Banking apps very. Some are very secure, some less so. If we knew which bank you are talking about it may be easier to advise.

I'd rather not say. is there a way to find out?

Most phone banking apps are far, far more secure than online banking. Viruses etc don't affect app data in the same way that computers do and often have far better built in protection if you are using a public WiFi network.
Also most newer phones have fingerprint recognition which is an extra added level of security.

Seems strange of them to get rid of online banking though, there's a lot of things my app won't let me do through Halifax that I have to do through online banking.

Nothing stopping you changing banks :)

I can't say that I would be confident that an app is more secure than internet banking. Most browsers an operating systems are kept up to date unless they are positively ancient. A lot of mobile phone manufacturers provide very few updates, leaving phones poorly secured.

A lot of people don't run an antivirus on their phone.

Arguably an app is safer than accessing it through a Web browser, which is far easier to intercept.

Don't know why you think a web browser is easier to intercept. If it is using a wired connection it is much harder to intercept.

Viruses etc don't affect app data in the same way that computers do

Yes they do. There is less malware for mobile phones than there is for PCs but you should definitely have up to date antivirus on your phone if you are using it for banking.

often have far better built in protection if you are using a public WiFi network

If you are using public wifi the level of protection you have is the same regardless of whether you are using a mobile phone or a laptop. You are potentially vulnerable to a man in the middle attack. Indeed, it is possible to launch a man in the middle attack even if you are using mobile data (i.e. over the phone network).

Some banking apps store your bank information on the phone, which is not secure. The better ones don't do that. Some use your fingerprint to log in (if your phone has a fingerprint reader). Others don't. So some banking apps are more secure than others.

Lloyd’s keep asking me to have their app. I am very new to internet banking and the stages of setting it up really unnerved me. I am going through a very anxious time at the moment and dread some performance or lack of security as the app will be obvious on my iPad.

I like the app. My bank uses fingerprint to log in (prior to that it was digits from a pass number). Its an easy way to keep track of spending