7 ms·

I really want to leave the Google and Apple Ecosystems, but I still need "these" Banking Apps. Some Banks don't even offer a Web based experience anymore.

amelius 1mo ago
Why doesn't the EU force these banks to support all platforms including web? I mean, if they can force Microsoft to support other browsers than IE6, then why can't they force banks?
- Eric_WVGG 1mo ago
  Not sure why this is getting downvoted (or why IE6 is being brought up in 2026). But yes, banks are super-highly regulated and for good reason. They’re subject to all sorts of accessibility laws, there’s loads of precedent here.
- OJFord 1mo ago
  I expect everyone who can conceive of something other than Android or iOS* on a phone is on HN, and not a bureaucrat in Brussels. *(or BB, webOS, Windows Phone 7 Phone OS Phone Microsoft, Symbian, etc. if old enough)
  - BirAdam 1mo ago
    PalmOS and webOS were the best.
  - izacus 1mo ago
    Why not have US Federal Government enforce this instead? It's way more impactful for most HN users. Why wait for Brussels beaurocrats we all have this much and not have the most important tech country in the world make this law?
    - OJFord 1mo ago
      ..sure? I don't personally care what either enforces, since I'm in neither jurisdiction. I wouldn't have thought the US is any more (or even as) likely to personally, but sure. I said Brussels because comment I replied to said EU.
- skeptic_ai 1mo ago
  So everyone needs to carry a tracking device.
- megous 1mo ago
  EU botched even API requirements on banks. We could have had open API to every EU bank, but nope, it must have been some bullshit for big companies to slurp data en-masse, instead of API for end users to use their data privately and comfortably from whatever app they wanted, incl. their own. Open/individually accessible APIs would have to have be a movement, like the one with open formats for interacting with eGov.
  - thyristan 1mo ago
    We even had open APIs for every bank in Germany, in the form of HBCI and FinTS. With fancy things like optional RSA smartcard auth. The EU killed it all in the name of "omg, security!" (a total bullshit argument if you've ever looked at the specs), now with the new PSD2 the only ones getting proper API access are lots of shady payment providers, credit databases, data brokers and the like...
- Blazara 1mo ago
  If you're an EU citizen, contact your MEP and ask for it.
wolletd 1mo ago
While Sparkasse and Volksbank in Germany aren't the most ideal banks cost- and interest-wise, they do still offer transaction authentication via debit card, without the need for any smartphone.
NegativeLatency 1mo ago
Get a new bank, make sure your old one knows why you left. Try a local credit union.
- Eric_WVGG 1mo ago
  Although I’m 100% in favor of credit unions over megabanks, I would not count on most having remotely decent web or app experiences.
  - igor47 1mo ago
    I tried repeatedly with several credit unions, with poor results. The final straw was the patelco hack that made the entire bank unavailable for over a week. In the aftermath they implanted crazy security measures where talking to a rep required 6 layers of increasingly invasive authentication. But... The hack was of the bank infrastructure. It had nothing to do with individualized fraud, all accounts were affected --it was just security theater. I went back to a major bank after that.
    - Eric_WVGG 1mo ago
      FWIW I use USAA, it’s a quasi-credit-union, and they’ve been great. But they’re also an outlier.
prmoustache 1mo ago
But do you need "these" banking apps with you 24/7? An old smartphone or tablet can do that job and stay in a drawer at home 99% of the time.
- skeptic_ai 1mo ago
  Yes. I need to pay someone. Get notified when my credit card is used. If any important banking communication happened. What do I do with a phone without: banking, uber, messenger like app, ? Same as holding a piece of a rock. Useless.
  - prmoustache 1mo ago
    How did we do it before phones? Instant online payment is nice but rarely a requirement. Most times we split a bill with friends in a restaurant we agree on paying someone but although we technically could we don't all grab our phone at the exact moment, preferring enjoying the real social conversations we have. We tend to pay them later, and that later is more often than not at home and when I do a swift transfer to someone I'd rather have my complete laptop screen anyway to verify the banking data. As for Uber and messaging, you are moving the goalpost. uber still worked from the webpage last time I checked. There are messaging apps available on linux.

amelius 1mo ago

Why doesn't the EU force these banks to support all platforms including web? I mean, if they can force Microsoft to support other browsers than IE6, then why can't they force banks?

Eric_WVGG 1mo ago
Not sure why this is getting downvoted (or why IE6 is being brought up in 2026). But yes, banks are super-highly regulated and for good reason. They’re subject to all sorts of accessibility laws, there’s loads of precedent here.
OJFord 1mo ago
I expect everyone who can conceive of something other than Android or iOS* on a phone is on HN, and not a bureaucrat in Brussels. *(or BB, webOS, Windows Phone 7 Phone OS Phone Microsoft, Symbian, etc. if old enough)
- BirAdam 1mo ago
  PalmOS and webOS were the best.
- izacus 1mo ago
  Why not have US Federal Government enforce this instead? It's way more impactful for most HN users. Why wait for Brussels beaurocrats we all have this much and not have the most important tech country in the world make this law?
  - OJFord 1mo ago
    ..sure? I don't personally care what either enforces, since I'm in neither jurisdiction. I wouldn't have thought the US is any more (or even as) likely to personally, but sure. I said Brussels because comment I replied to said EU.
skeptic_ai 1mo ago
So everyone needs to carry a tracking device.
megous 1mo ago
EU botched even API requirements on banks. We could have had open API to every EU bank, but nope, it must have been some bullshit for big companies to slurp data en-masse, instead of API for end users to use their data privately and comfortably from whatever app they wanted, incl. their own. Open/individually accessible APIs would have to have be a movement, like the one with open formats for interacting with eGov.
- thyristan 1mo ago
  We even had open APIs for every bank in Germany, in the form of HBCI and FinTS. With fancy things like optional RSA smartcard auth. The EU killed it all in the name of "omg, security!" (a total bullshit argument if you've ever looked at the specs), now with the new PSD2 the only ones getting proper API access are lots of shady payment providers, credit databases, data brokers and the like...
Blazara 1mo ago
If you're an EU citizen, contact your MEP and ask for it.

wolletd 1mo ago

While Sparkasse and Volksbank in Germany aren't the most ideal banks cost- and interest-wise, they do still offer transaction authentication via debit card, without the need for any smartphone.

NegativeLatency 1mo ago

Get a new bank, make sure your old one knows why you left. Try a local credit union.

Eric_WVGG 1mo ago
Although I’m 100% in favor of credit unions over megabanks, I would not count on most having remotely decent web or app experiences.
- igor47 1mo ago
  I tried repeatedly with several credit unions, with poor results. The final straw was the patelco hack that made the entire bank unavailable for over a week. In the aftermath they implanted crazy security measures where talking to a rep required 6 layers of increasingly invasive authentication. But... The hack was of the bank infrastructure. It had nothing to do with individualized fraud, all accounts were affected --it was just security theater. I went back to a major bank after that.
  - Eric_WVGG 1mo ago
    FWIW I use USAA, it’s a quasi-credit-union, and they’ve been great. But they’re also an outlier.

prmoustache 1mo ago

But do you need "these" banking apps with you 24/7? An old smartphone or tablet can do that job and stay in a drawer at home 99% of the time.

skeptic_ai 1mo ago
Yes. I need to pay someone. Get notified when my credit card is used. If any important banking communication happened. What do I do with a phone without: banking, uber, messenger like app, ? Same as holding a piece of a rock. Useless.
- prmoustache 1mo ago
  How did we do it before phones? Instant online payment is nice but rarely a requirement. Most times we split a bill with friends in a restaurant we agree on paying someone but although we technically could we don't all grab our phone at the exact moment, preferring enjoying the real social conversations we have. We tend to pay them later, and that later is more often than not at home and when I do a swift transfer to someone I'd rather have my complete laptop screen anyway to verify the banking data. As for Uber and messaging, you are moving the goalpost. uber still worked from the webpage last time I checked. There are messaging apps available on linux.