>I never understood why anyone would even want a banking app though; there is nothing int can do that a website can't.
A mobile phone app can let users "deposit paper checks from home" without ever driving to the bank branch by taking a photo of the check with the smartphone camera. Last time I looked into it, a desktop website couldn't enable check deposits with a webcam. (EDIT: I don't mean technically not possible. I meant that the banks deliberately chose not to have the websites utilize desktop/laptop webcams as an alternative to smartphone apps.)
Smartphone bank apps also have "push notifications" to immediately alert you of suspicious activity on your account.
But if one never uses the extra features that smartphones bank apps enable, then yes, desktop bank websites can be seen as perfectly equivalent.
Meanwhile most of the world hasn't used checks in 20+ years. Thank god for that.
But for completeness; browsers have been able to use cameras since before smartphones. So of course it can work just the same there.
"Suspicious activity" is such a bad strawman argument, i'm not sure how to address it.
"Just thought you'd want to know your money is gone, lol."
Either you do N+1 factor authentication for real, or you just shouldn't bother.
Browsers have had push notifications for quite some time now too... so even if it was a worthwhile feature, it doesn't need an app.
>Meanwhile most of the world hasn't used checks in 20+ years.
True, but the key word you used is "most". E.g. My home insurance refunds an annual dividend back to me and their method to pay me is paper check. Not an electronic direct deposit, nor a VISA giftcard, nor even a "credit" that can be applied as a discount off year's premium. It's a paper check.
>So of course it _can_ work just the same there.
Sure but that's talking in hypotheticals. Today, I have the reality of a paper check to deal with and Bank of America and Chase websites do not have options to upload images of checks for deposit. (Chase does have a paper check scanner option that doesn't require mobile phones but that's only for commercial accounts: https://www.chase.com/business/banking/services/quick-deposi...)
>"Suspicious activity" is such a bad strawman argument, i'm not sure how to address it. "Just thought you'd want to know your money is gone, lol."
No, you misunderstand. The better banking smartphone apps will require interactive approval from you to allow a particular suspicious transaction to happen. This prevents your money from being gone. (Example screenshot: https://www2.bac-assets.com/online-banking/spa-assets/images...)
> Browsers have had push notifications for quite some time now too...
No, web push finally came to Safari in iOS 16.4 which was just a few months ago in April 2023.
From the tone of your reply, it seems like you'd rather be argumentative instead of acknowledging that bank apps have some extra features that's convenient for some users.
The paper check scanner from Chase also (last I looked) cost a few bucks and needs an app on the Windows PC to process the data. That hardware is only useful when you process 100s of checks (eg: grocery store).
The real use for notifications is to sell things or get paid for services in-person without cash. The notification provides certainty that you've been paid, so you can hand over the item/stop hanging around after the service waiting to be paid.
Of course, a bank should be able to send you a text on the service of your choice. But they won't.
? Suspicious activity isn't about this. For instance my bank reports me when I get a double debit (e.g. go to a restaurant and get charged twice), when a regular expense increases (e.g. some monthly payment that suddenly goes up)...
My credit union let me deposit checks via uploaded picture on browsers back around 2008ish. Don't get me wrong, I did this by taking a picture from my phone and emailing it to myself to upload - the smartphone UX simplifies that. But this is a trail long since blazed.
Yes, this is one of those things that banks will sell as an add-on because capitalism. Credit unions will either just not have their act together on it (i.e. they contract with a bad service provider) or will have all kinds of useful stuff like this for free.
I really want a general-membership credit union with stellar technology, but I haven't found one yet. Does your credit union by chance offer open membership?
A mobile phone app can let users "deposit paper checks from home" without ever driving to the bank branch by taking a photo of the check with the smartphone camera. Last time I looked into it, a desktop website couldn't enable check deposits with a webcam. (EDIT: I don't mean technically not possible. I meant that the banks deliberately chose not to have the websites utilize desktop/laptop webcams as an alternative to smartphone apps.)
Smartphone bank apps also have "push notifications" to immediately alert you of suspicious activity on your account.
But if one never uses the extra features that smartphones bank apps enable, then yes, desktop bank websites can be seen as perfectly equivalent.