Not in Spain. I can access my bank's website but I can't do anything without their bank app. Even sometimes they require to confirm my identity using their app in order to access their website.

I've seen this elsewhere, and it's absolutely ridiculous.

Why?

Because in almost all cases, the apps may only be installed with Google Play, and require the framework to work correctly. And that means?

If you are not in good standing with Google, you cannot bank!!

I cannot stress how inane it is, to have Google or Apple as the gatekeeping to identify verification. How not having an active, in good standing account with one of these two, means you cannot bank.

And it's happening more and more.

Meanwhile, banks -- which tend to make billions in profits quarterly, do this to save on infrastructure costs. They do it so they don't have to stand up their own push servers, or have an app which doesn't require firebase.

Well cry me a river, boo-hoo Mr Banker, I'm not even remotely interested in you saving on infra-structure costs at the loss of autonomy. And on top of this, many banks are reducing hours, closing branches, claiming that they don't need them.

Leaving absolutely no other choice.

This sort of thing should be illegal. Being in Spain, but requiring a US megacorp to tell your own bank, that you're you.

> They do it so they don't have to stand up their own push servers

I don't agree with this dependency on being in good standing with Google either.

But there is a technical reason that isn't wanting to avoid using their push servers. It is about battery usage and radio bandwidth.

Keeping open an idle connection over WebSocket, long-poll HTTP or TCP/IP needs regular pings (typically 30 seconds are used), one ping per connection. Otherwise your app can't be sure to receive messages from the server in real time, as the connection can disappear into CGNAT or similar hole where it doesn't receive messages sent by the server. To an app not using pings to check, such a blackholed connection is indisinguishable from an idle connection with no pending messages.

Waking the radio every 30 seconds, times 2 (back and forth), times the number of registered applications, would be quite battery draining. It drains battery both for background CPU usage and radio processing. Those pings in aggregate can even amount to a significant amount of data usage for users on smaller plans.

So there is a battery and radio advantage in using a shared push service, which only need a single idle connection to be kept live with 30 second pings.

There's another level to this, not available to regular developers using TCP/IP, HTTP or WebSockets.

The mobile network itself has to maintain handset connection liveness to the nearest tower, at a lower level than IP pings, and this is obviously optimised for battery and radio performance, and always running.

With arrangements in place with the mobile networks (which Google and Apple have), the mobile OS can leverage that for more reliable, lower power push notifications, by either guaranteeing the network will send something technically similar to a low-level SMS when there's an outstanding message, or by guaranteeing their special push IP connection will stay live by itself (no CGNAT blackhole) or be notified if something happens to it.

This allows the mobile OS to offer a shared push service that's fairly reliable at real-time notifications, with zero continuous CPU and radio power overhead for the idle connection.

As far as I remember, last time I needed to use Google play on a shared phone I could just create a random Google address (I mean, completely invented name, etc.) and it allowed me to do anything, just as my normal Android.

I am too lazy to test, but did this change? Can't you just make a "fake" account and continue with your life? The phone company knows where you are, the bank knows what you purchase. Compared to that Google will know far less (ofc, if you don't activate everything)

I find it much more insane that it was possible for so long to do banking WITHOUT strong authentication (however implemented) by just providing those 3 numbers on the back of the card (strong security!)

I thought this was what Larry meant when he said surveillance will keep citizens on their best behavior. If one’s reputation score is low, sorry no money. Also, if anyone in one’s network has bad behavior, no money and no friends. Maybe the kids will learn to accept it, but being of the last analog generation, to me it seems like a painful future.

It seems like the right time to advocate for open standards in things like banking.

In Germany for some banks you can buy a TAN generator and then you do not need a smartphone app anymore. Is this an option in your area as well?

Why? Technofeudalism is not going to impose itself

Especially with how things are currently, I whole heartedly agree - you cannot operate as a human being in Europe without having a good standing with either Alphabet or Apple.

Absolute madness.