Banking apps on cell phones?

[Buckman]

Numerous banks have apps so that you can access your banking accounts using your phone, but how safe are these banking apps. If in the unfortunate event that your phone is stolen and it is hacked, can they access your banking accounts to transfer money to their account? If they manage to do this, do the banks offer you any protection? Thanks.

 

[Jcloughie]

I think the security and encryption put on by the banks is very good. But in the end it depends on what the user does to protect themselves. Decent passwords, fingerprint or face recognition. And two factor identification.

Some say they don‘t trust the cloud. But if you do bank or buy online you are putting your details ‘out there’ anyway. So no different except you don’t have to encrypt your cloud.

I have a few cloud accounts. The vast majority of the data I put on it is of no value to anyone. But passwords and other confidential info are highly encrypted.

My worry is how others access this info when we are no longer with us. My children have my password for my ID protection software. When they get in there they can find how to get access to everything.

Do I trust my children? Well the are beneficiaries and executors, so yes.

John

 

[Buckman]

We bank Online from my laptop, but to access our bank account I have to log into the bank website and enter a password. I am then sent a text with a pass code that I then need to input into the website on my laptop. TBH I think this is very secure.
I have no idea how a banking app on the phone works and whether you can access your bank details direct from your phone after entering a password. We are with Nationwide.

 

[otherclive]

I’d mirror John C’s comments. My wife has her two bank accounts as Apps and I have a number of cloud based accounts that use encryption and 2FV. My two kids have access to where key passwords are kept. I also use Apple generated strong passwords for accounts where fraudulent access could cost me money. Apple Keychain gives me access via fingerprint ID, facial ID or good old alphanumerics.
When I’m gone my kids will be able to access the various accounts but of course banks will freeze an account once death is notified.

 

[otherclive]

We bank Online from my laptop, but to access our bank account I have to log into the bank website and enter a password. I am then sent a text with a pass code that I then need to input into the website on my laptop. TBH I think this is very secure.
I have no idea how a banking app on the phone works and whether you can access your bank details direct from your phone after entering a password. We are with Nationwide.

My wife checks her two bank accounts every morning over her first cup of tea.. She does it from her phone. But the input requirements change for things like if she wants to withdraw or set up a new payee. She has also set a payment limit for her account and contactless payments.

 

[JTQ]

We bank Online from my laptop, but to access our bank account I have to log into the bank website and enter a password. I am then sent a text with a pass code that I then need to input into the website on my laptop. TBH I think this is very secure.

As you trust that system, you could simply replicate this using your mobile in a web browser mode, and opting for the verification TXT to be sent to your wife's phone, not obviously yours. Thus, avoiding using any obvious banking app at all.

You would need a strong password or pass "sentence" * that you can memorise, as opposed to your phone or browser auto filling that in.
* say a string of five or six unrelated words, in my case something far easier to recall, than a complex conventional password. Hint use wife's maiden name or some similar thing you can readily recall, to remember each of the first characters of the words and their sequence in the string.
Eg Smith = SexMalletIndgoTheodaliteHare212

 

[Buckman]

There is a specific reason why I was asking. Our "adopted" daughter in South Africa had the mobile stolen when thieves accessed the home. Amongst other things of less value they stole a virtually brand new mobile phone purchased a few days previous.
Unfortunately the phone had bank apps for personal and business banking on it which were hacked and both accounts were drained of all money. I have no idea what sort of security they have for banking apps in South Africa.
They are also in the process of emigrating to the UK as she is a British passport holder so this has caused a massive disruption as it takes about 6 weeks to recover the money from the banks.

 

[Parksy]

That's bad news, the quicker your daughter and family leave that place and come here the better.
I use a banking app on my phone, without going into details it has 3 levels of security and the account that it's connected with never holds much money.
I keep that particular account for online purchases, grocery shopping and fuel, with a minimal available balance which wouldn't greatly affect our day to day lives if anything went wrong.

 

[Malx]

I used to use web apps to do my banking. I found them clunks and passwords had to be long and awkward.

In the last couple of years I have moved things across to an iPhone. It’s go an inbuilt password manager, it uses Face ID. Far easier for me to access my accounts. I don’t have to manage and remember passwords. I don’t even have them written down and are securely encrypted on my phone.

How secure is your debit card, quite worryingly you can swipe to pay for goods up to 100 pounds. If you have your card on your phone, it’s protected by your phone log in details.

I believe that Which has run a campaign to get banks to refund fraudulent payments. If you are using a secure system with strong passwords and an app supplied by the bank then any breaches must be covered? Surely?

 

[otherclive]

I used to use web apps to do my banking. I found them clunks and passwords had to be long and awkward.

In the last couple of years I have moved things across to an iPhone. It’s go an inbuilt password manager, it uses Face ID. Far easier for me to access my accounts. I don’t have to manage and remember passwords. I don’t even have them written down and are securely encrypted on my phone.

How secure is your debit card, quite worryingly you can swipe to pay for goods up to 100 pounds. If you have your card on your phone, it’s protected by your phone log in details.

I believe that Which has run a campaign to get banks to refund fraudulent payments. If you are using a secure system with strong passwords and an app supplied by the bank then any breaches must be covered? Surely?

You can have the new £100 limit on contactless reduced, and reports seem to indicate that many users have reduced it back to £50 which they are more comfort with.

 

[RogerL]

You can have the new £100 limit on contactless reduced, and reports seem to indicate that many users have reduced it back to £50 which they are more comfort with.

Some, maybe many, banks will issue cards without contactless facility if requested by their customer.

 

[Dustydog]

More bad news for the family Buckman. Really sorry to hear that after all the recent disappointments.
We use mobile phone app banking. The only way in is a finger print , a secret number, (is there such a thing) and then you can do things. But limited until a further security check.
I recommend talking to your Bank at a branch and set up with them a three tier security procedure. It is pretty robust and puts the onus back on the Bank.

 

[otherclive]

Some, maybe many, banks will issue cards without contactless facility if requested by their customer.

My BIL bank has issued him what is basically a cash card with £50 limit as he’s a vulnerable person. He goes into the building society to top it up.

 

[Buckman]

You can have the new £100 limit on contactless reduced, and reports seem to indicate that many users have reduced it back to £50 which they are more comfort with.

I have inquired with Nationwide about reducing the amount down to £50 which covers most of our purchases, but they say they have no control over the amount as that is set by VISA.

That's bad news, the quicker your daughter and family leave that place and come here the better.

Just to clarify. Our actual true daughter is okay. It is the "adopted" daughter that has an issue and they are also in the process of leaving South Africa. When I say "adopted" she is a friend's daughter, but spent so much time with us when we lived in SA and also for a short while when we first came to the UK that we were almost like a second Mom & Dad to her. Difficult to explain, but we feel a strong bond with her even after all these years.

 

[otherclive]

I have inquired with Nationwide about reducing the amount down to £50 which covers most of our purchases, but they say they have no control over the amount as that is set by VISA.

Just to clarify. Our actual true daughter is okay. It is the "adopted" daughter that has an issue and they are also in the process of leaving South Africa. When I say "adopted" she is a friend's daughter, but spent so much time with us when we lived in SA and also for a short while when we first came to the UK that we were almost like a second Mom & Dad to her. Difficult to explain, but we feel a strong bond with her even after all these years.

Nationwide were due to look at reducing the limit from £100.

https://www.which.co.uk/news/2021/0...w-you-to-control-your-contactless-card-limit/

 

[Buckman]

Nationwide were due to look at reducing the limit from £100.

https://www.which.co.uk/news/2021/0...w-you-to-control-your-contactless-card-limit/

I think that was in the September issue and there doe snot appear to be any updates since the article was published. Hope that the limit can be reduced because if the card is misused you could lose a lot of cash. I appreciate that the bank will eventually pay you back, but you need to jump through many hoops and it is a lot of stress and hassle.
A few years ago on the train my wife lost her purse to a pickpocket even though she had 3 dogs with her. Luckily at the time none of the cards were contactless. We immediately cancelled all the cards about 3 hours later when she realised her purse was missing, but in 3 hours with contactless it may have messed up our holiday. Her purse was later found with all the cards plus driver's licence less the money which only amounted to about £5.

 

[JTQ]

This LINK gives an alternative source with simple tabulation of the banks offering contactless amount setting and an on off option.
Again the article is dated September 2021, though strangely in the text says its valid of the 2nd Dec 2021.

 

[otherclive]

I think that was in the September issue and there doe snot appear to be any updates since the article was published. Hope that the limit can be reduced because if the card is misused you could lose a lot of cash. I appreciate that the bank will eventually pay you back, but you need to jump through many hoops and it is a lot of stress and hassle.
A few years ago on the train my wife lost her purse to a pickpocket even though she had 3 dogs with her. Luckily at the time none of the cards were contactless. We immediately cancelled all the cards about 3 hours later when she realised her purse was missing, but in 3 hours with contactless it may have messed up our holiday. Her purse was later found with all the cards plus driver's licence less the money which only amounted to about £5.

Our bank is quite good at spotting unusual activity and sends texts. At one time we couldn’t access cash or buy things on a our cards when in Norfolk. After phoning the bank they told me the cards had been stopped and asked where I was. I said in Hunstanton. It seemed a card had been cloned at fuel stop and was trying to be used in Canada. We used an alternative card to get us through the holiday b

 

[Buckman]

Many years ago there was a withdrawal using my card from an ATM in the next town. This was long before Smartphones etc. The amount was for £10 as that was all that was available for that account.
it was a lot of hassle and stress to sort it out as £10 then was a fair bit of money. Luckily I was able to prove that at the time of the withdrawal I was at work. Eventually i was refunded.

 

[Jcloughie]

The banks seem to have magic systems to protect you and them. In the 90’s my wallet was stolen at work. I got a call from Barclays to say they had put a stop on a card as it was being used in a manner not normal for me. Purchasing CD’s and cigarettes from filling stations.

Up until the call I hadn’t even realised it had gone. They reimbursed without any hassle.

About 7 years ago Tesco bank stopped my card while in France. Auchen had double taken for my fuel within 1 second. Auchen quickly realised the error and put the money back in my account. But it made life awkward for the rest of the holiday as I could not get a replacement card til we got home. Since them we always take an alternative payment method when abroad.

In 2005 I purchased a telephone code from a dealer in Boston America. The sort of thing you put in to redirect calls in order to make cheap international calls.

The following day, I received a call from Tesco bank to ask me if I was trying to make a £1,200 purchase from a chandlery just outside of Boston. They did not allow the transaction to go ahead, and stopped the card. The telephone place said it could not have been them, but the coincidence was far too great for me.

John

 

[Raywood]

I use internet banking on the PC at home but have never tried phone banking. I do not know anyone who has had a problem with it though.

 

[Buckman]

The following day, I received a call from Tesco bank to ask me if I was trying to make a £1,200 purchase from a chandlery just outside of Boston. They did not allow the transaction to go ahead, and stopped the card. The telephone place said it could not have been them, but the coincidence was far too great for me.
John

Regarding the stolen brand new phone, they are wondering why they were targetted and suspect details regarding their address may have been passed onto thieves.
The phone was probably the primary target and the banking apps etc were a bonus for the thieves. As said I have no idea of banking app security in SA.

 

[Jcloughie]

Regarding the stolen brand new phone, they are wondering why they were targetted and suspect details regarding their address may have been passed onto thieves.
The phone was probably the primary target and the banking apps etc were a bonus for the thieves. As said I have no idea of banking app security in SA.

I purchased a ‘telephone code’ from Boston, not a phone. In them days, 2005. You put the code in, about 20 characters, before the required number. If you didn’t make a mistake. It allowed you to make cheap international calls. I bought the code using my credit card over the internet. Somehow someone got hold of my details and tried to use them. The Boston phone company said it could not have been them as it was all automated and the office was empty

John

 

[otherclive]

One significant advantage having the app on the phone even if you don’t use it apart from the occasional check is that you can put a stop on the card from the app. Minimal time delay. No need to try phoning the bank as the phone number is on the card! Unless you keep the card phone numbers on your phones contacts.

 

[Buckman]

One significant advantage having the app on the phone even if you don’t use it apart from the occasional check is that you can put a stop on the card from the app. Minimal time delay. No need to try phoning the bank as the phone number is on the card! Unless you keep the card phone numbers on your phones contacts.

However it is knowing when the card is stolen as it may be a few hours befroe you realise that the card is missing.
We are more interested in knowing what sort of safeguards are there in place for using a banking app on your phone. Is there some sort of prevention to stop hackers accessing your account and draining it.
Recently we moved our main account across to Nationwide so now have two current accounts with Nationwide. Sadly it seems that you cannot isolate the main account from the day to day account so a hacker would be able to access main account, day to day account, savings and also credit card account however with the latter I don't think they can do much with it as no cvv or expiry dates.