4 min ago
Search for the notebook, boot up, go to the bank page and log in laboriously. And all that just to check the balance. It’s faster with the smartphone app. But is it safe?
Good banking apps are few and far between. In a comparison of the Stiftung Warentest only 4 of 19 tested Android and 19 tested iOS applications received this grade (“Finanztest” edition 6/20). All other apps scored overall “satisfactory” or “sufficient”.
The apps with a good overall rating are the same for both operating systems: Firstly, the Sparkassen and GLS-Bank apps. On the other hand, the Finanzblick online banking and Numbrs applications, which can be used to manage the accounts of several banks – so-called multibanking. It was the only two third-party apps tested.
The house bank app is not a must
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The goods testers advise users to use these third-party apps if one or more of the following criteria are met: they are not satisfied with the app from their house bank, it has not been tested well, or the house bank app does not offer multibanking, although this is needed.
However, the experts found that the new EU Payment Services Directive (PSD2) has made it significantly more difficult to integrate accounts from other banks into other apps.
Push message on receipt of money
Interesting convenience functions of banking apps that bank customers can look out for include push messages about incoming payments and debits or the automatic completion of entries for transfers. In addition, it is often possible to make transfers easier by photographing transfer slips or QR codes or by loading PDF invoices into the app.
In terms of security, the test gives the all-clear: All apps in the test are therefore comprehensively protected against external attacks. The experts did not find any security gaps that hackers could use to gain access to bank data.
Advertising tracker even when banking
Functions and handling were the focus of the test criteria. Nevertheless, the experts also checked data protection declarations, terms and conditions and the data transmission behavior of the apps and devalued the result by half a note in the case of very clear defects.
In this context, the product testers were surprised to find that on average there were more advertising trackers in the iOS versions of the apps than in the Android counterparts. Nevertheless, significantly more than half of the apps tested were free of advertisements. (dpa)
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