Indeed, but then I'd have to say goodbye to banking and thus NFC paying, which needs the banking app installed locally AFAIK to authorize the link. So yeah, it's doable but cripples the device to such a point that I'd only be able to use it at home. On the go access to banking is a must.

The block in degooglifying is usually region not lack of willingness. Some places are locked to Google by no fault of the consumer.