i€ Bank iPhone app

tonylee

Anyone use this app? It works great and the developer seems very legit but it seems the app hasn’t AIB’s blessing. And now there’s a warning up on the AIB site telling customers not to use mobile apps. Might this be because AIB are developing their own app and don’t want private developers muscling in or is there a genuine reason to be concerned about using this app on the iPhone?

Redzkitten

No mater what their reasoning is. I still don't think its worth the risk of using a third party app when your banking details are at risk!!

Bob_Harris

tonylee wrote: »

Might this be because AIB are developing their own app and don’t want private developers muscling in

I doubt it.

Things like online banking and different ways for the customer to bank are generally free (for the most part), so if AIB were to offer an iphone app it would most likely be free to use.

Most likely genuine security concerns.

What kind of data encryption and security measures does i€ Bank use?

aledoux

Maybe I am not allowed replying to this post but I will try to clear some points.

If you check the article published on herald.ie you will see that:
"However, the spokesman said that they could not yet determine if it had been established for a malicious purpose." which is the case: i€Bank has NOT been developed for malicious purpose and this article is in my opinion misleading (no relation with the title "Bank crooks are now using iPhone fraud" and the article itself which talks mostly about email phishing).

The application only prompts you for the PAC digits which are required for limited banking operations (View Balance, Transfer money to already registered account, Topup mobile).
For anybody to transfer money out of your account and especially to register a new account, the code card is required and this is what i€Bank is not prompting ever.

The encryption used by i€Bank is HTTPS which is what is required by the Internet Banking Service or else you would expect the queries to be rejected by their service (you would hope so!).

The application will never prompt you for your email address therefore it cannot be blamed for Email Spam linked to Bank phishing.

Why did I develop it ? Because accessing Internet Banking using Safari on the iPhone was not the best and using phone Banking is painful.
I have the first generation iPhone which is 2 years old now and I waited and waited for an application like this one to be published by the Bank so I developed it myself.

WezzyB

Can you write an app that works with Bank of Ireland Business Online!

Type 17

WezzyB wrote: »

Can you write an app that works with Bank of Ireland Business Online!

He won't be able to, as BoI Business Online is limited to using Internet Explorer on Windows - nice and compatible, and very secure, I'm sure... :rolleyes:

rebel.ranter

aledoux wrote: »

Why did I develop it ? Because accessing Internet Banking using Safari on the iPhone was not the best and using phone Banking is painful.
I have the first generation iPhone which is 2 years old now and I waited and waited for an application like this one to be published by the Bank so I developed it myself.

Have you approached any of the banking institutions with you current product to get their blessing? It would definitely make your application sky rocket. Even beyond the Irish market?

aledoux

The problem developing those kind of application is that you need to have a bank account in the specific banking institutions so Bank of Ireland Business would mean me creating a Business Account which would be difficult. But I finally got my Internet Banking for BoI

"Have you approached any of the banking institutions with you current product to get their blessing?"
Yes I did but maybe I didn't use the right doors and I know I am not the only one that tried.

"It would definitely make your application sky rocket. Even beyond the Irish market?"
Well all Bank Institutions would follow a different internet banking model. ie. AIB prompts for Registration Number on first screen, then pacs digits and challenge question on 2nd screen and then you can login rather than BoI is prompting for reg number and challenge question on 1st screen, then pacs digits on 2nd screen and then you can login. Then again after that browsing through the accounts and interacting with them is also different so I tried to make it generic enough for further extension but it is tricky. So I would consider this application very custom to AIB and soon BoI.

happyeveryday

aledoux wrote: »

Maybe I am not allowed replying to this post but I will try to clear some points.

If you check the article published on herald.ie you will see that:
"However, the spokesman said that they could not yet determine if it had been established for a malicious purpose." which is the case: i€Bank has NOT been developed for malicious purpose and this article is in my opinion misleading (no relation with the title "Bank crooks are now using iPhone fraud" and the article itself which talks mostly about email phishing).

The application only prompts you for the PAC digits which are required for limited banking operations (View Balance, Transfer money to already registered account, Topup mobile).
For anybody to transfer money out of your account and especially to register a new account, the code card is required and this is what i€Bank is not prompting ever.

The encryption used by i€Bank is HTTPS which is what is required by the Internet Banking Service or else you would expect the queries to be rejected by their service (you would hope so!).

The application will never prompt you for your email address therefore it cannot be blamed for Email Spam linked to Bank phishing.

Why did I develop it ? Because accessing Internet Banking using Safari on the iPhone was not the best and using phone Banking is painful.
I have the first generation iPhone which is 2 years old now and I waited and waited for an application like this one to be published by the Bank so I developed it myself.

Totally agree regarding using safari for online banking, but i would be highly reluctant to use third party app for such purposes and yes i know the data is using the same encryption as browsing. But fraud is to the front of everyones mind when it comes to Banking, email and online personal details.
Anyway well done on creating a seriously useful App, get the seal of approval or even sell the template to the Banks and they'll be chasing you for your business not the other way around.
Best of luck I hope you make something big out of this.

hmmm

I'm happy to give some apps my login details for non sensitive websites e.g. Twitter or Google reader.

However, giving a third party app my online banking login details? You have got to be joking. Blows my mind to think there are people out there doing this.

target

aledoux wrote: »

...very custom to AIB and soon BoI.

I'd often thought that someone might have a go at developing their own iPhone app for the Irish Banking sites. It's such a pity that the banks didn't move on it first themselves but I'd hope they are clever enough to embrace your work and offer to co-operate with you rather than discredit your work.

I'd love to see one for BOI. Well done and best of luck with it, you have my support.

Gregor Samsa

hmmm wrote: »

However, giving a third party app my online banking login details? You have got to be joking. Blows my mind to think there are people out there doing this.

You do it every time you log in with your browser. The only difference is that you trust Apple/Microsoft/Firefox.

The way I see it, I€ bank is really nothing more than a browser that specifically targets one site.

hmmm

phutyle wrote: »

You do it every time you log in with your browser. The only difference is that you trust Apple/Microsoft/Firefox.

The way I see it, I€ bank is really nothing more than a browser that specifically targets one site.

And how do you know ibank isn't storing your login details and sending it back to the author (I'm not saying it does, but I'm making a point)? I can guarantee Firefox isn't doing that. Are you happy to trust "aledoux" with your bank account? This is crazy stuff.

Most banks have policies where if the client is negligent (e.g. storing your PIN with your credit card), they won't reimburse fraud. Anyone who gives their banking logins to a third party is equally negligent as far as I'm concerned.

Gregor Samsa

1. Any app on the App store has gone through a certain level of vetting by Apple. The developer needs to be registered with them, and they've seen the source code. I certainly wouldn't trust an app from Cydia, but one of the advantages of Apple's restricted system is at least a certain level of security.

2. the developer is publically known. Apple have his details, he's well known within the kitesurfing community in Ireland. I don't know him personally, but I know more about him than any of the firefox developers, and it wouldn't be difficult for the authorities to track him down in the event of any issues.

3. you need the code card to transfer any money out of your AIB account into a third party that you have not authorised. The developer doesn't have this.

Like I say, I don't know the developer, and I have nothing to do with the app. I'd much prefer to be using an app sanctioned by the bank, but in the absence of this, and in light of the points raised above, I'm personally happy to trust it as I do my browser, which is also a 3rd party.

I certainly respect your position of being more cautious, but in the meantime, I have a very handy way of viewing my account details on the move, and no money's gone missing yet. Personally, I'm more worried about being fleeced by the bank than this guy.

vinnycoyne

phutyle wrote: »

they've seen the source code.

This is not true. All they review is the functionality of a binary file.

Owen

Type 17 wrote: »

He won't be able to, as BoI Business Online is limited to using Internet Explorer on Windows - nice and compatible, and very secure, I'm sure... :rolleyes:

That's only for business banking. Normal personal banking with 365online can be done on any browser.

BrianD

I'm stunned that the quality control people at Apple have allowed an app like this fall through the system. One would presume that Apple have this control to prevent viruses, malware and phishing attempts getting through to their platform. It would be in their interest that they only allow official banks publish apps. Allowing third parties to publish apps means that the consumer is going to find it difficult to distinguish between what should be a trusted app and what may be dubious.

It's not beyond the realm of imagination that a fraudster could be become an app dveloper and then run off with the data of unsuspecting users. i have seen quite a few dodgy apps appear on itunes to wonder if Apple are able to keep pace with quality control.

Finally, Apple aren't the only player in the app game. Most people who have developed are also looking at replicating their apps onto other platforms - android, bada, nokia etc. Apps will become generic. Apple have an opportunity to show some leadership and educating the market that a banking app should only come from your bank and not a third party.

sean72

This app seems to have been removed from the app store. It's a pity the banks can't get their act in order. There are many official apps in other countrys. You'd think we paid bankers enough by now!

BrianD

sean72 wrote: »

This app seems to have been removed from the app store. It's a pity the banks can't get their act in order. There are many official apps in other countrys. You'd think we paid bankers enough by now!

Cost of development. Ireland is already a small market for any banking software and the number of potential iPhone users even smaller. Let's say 250,000 iPhones in circulation and if a bank had a 30% market share that means an app that would have to maintained for 75,000. While the number of Iphones will increase, its market share will decline as other models come online. They are probably better off waiting and seeing.

Having said that there are probably companies who have already created apps for other banks so there maybe off teh shelf solutions.

geoduff

Just noticed this app gone from the app store no longer works with ios4 is the developer finished with this app. I wonder was something wrong with it's uses.