Ask HN: How to switch away from Android while keeping banking utilities?

11 points by hakmad 4 years ago | 6 comments

I'd like to remove Google from my life as much as possible and the final step is to install an alternative OS onto my phone (either LineageOS or GrapheneOS). I've seen many suggestions to switch communication apps such as WhatsApp out for Signal, however I've not seen much discussion around banking apps. Many banks tend to have their own proprietary apps, with many important (verifying transactions/login attempts, acting as "security keys") and convenient (viewing transaction history quickly) features. I know some banks offer physical "security keys" which can replace the app but this does not apply to every bank, with some only offering their core services through the app and a stripped back version on web/desktop.

Have you experienced anything similar? What have you done to get around this? If I can't find an alternative method to access these utilities I'll probably just bite the bullet and keep Google around for a little while longer (or until I can switch to a bank that offers a web-only experience - tangentially, are their any banks like this?).

Thank you for your time!

goodusername 4 years ago |

This will be very dependent on the specific apps you need, but I have done almost the exact same process with some success. I switched to CalyxOS which has microG to "replace" Google Play Services. For banking, goverment ID, payment apps etc., this mostly seems to work. I use Aurora store to install and update the apps that are only in playstore, which sadly is still a lot of them. I Use f-droid as much as possible. The odd app that doesn't work, can sometimes be replaced by using the website of the service instead, even though the experience is likely worse.

Some banks or government services allows you to buy a physical token to generate TOTP, and that comes in handy if the app doesn't work.

EdwardDiego 4 years ago |

Can't you use their web apps instead?

jlokier 4 years ago | |

Not any more:

- Login authentication requires the phone, even for the web app.

- Card payments require the phone to approve them.

Two of my banks require the phone during the authentication step to login their web apps. Both of them are business accounts.

Recently I had a real problem because my phone screen stopped working (blank screen) though everything else worked. Unfortunately, remote desktop (TeamViewer) works great except for banking apps, where for security reasons it can't grab the screen to relay it. So I phoned one of the banks, and they said there was nothing they could do to authorise access to my account, except get another working phone, which they could then transfer authorisation to.

I had to purchase another phone, then talk with the bank to authorise it, before I could login to the bank account using my laptop to make a payment.

As for card transactions, probably half of my card accounts occasionally bring up a notification on my phone asking me to approve a transaction. So online shopping isn't possible without the phone nearby.

browningstreet 4 years ago | | |

FWIW I do tech at a bank and while I can’t speak to the absolute need for a phone for authorizations, I can say that the blessed platforms are required because the device profiling for transactions is implemented for fraud detection and prevention. Non-standard OSes can’t be trusted, or IDed for trust. Fraud identification and prevention is the driving force for this requirement.

EdwardDiego 4 years ago | | |

I get the needing the phone, but is it solely via their app, no option for SMS? If so, I'm surprised and disappointed, and see why you're finding it a damn hassle.