APPS for FI's and Credit Cards | Site suggestions | Discussion forum

Doug said

I would personally oppose, possibly strongly, any references to mobile apps for two reasons:

(1) It adds to site clutter. Keep the comparison charts as minimal as possible, especially the main HISA and GIC charts.

(2) It may be a slippery slope to potentially including the likes of prepaid credit cards that operate via mobile app (i.e., Koho, Stack, Wealthsimple Cash, Mogo, Revolut, etc.) which pay you a notional, variable rate of return but which are not CDIC insured and which are either (a) not issued in your own name at all or (b) issued indirectly in your name. Lots of potential confusion there.

Cheers,
Doug  

Doug are you opposed to:
Me and anything I bring up?
OR
Anything that is mistakenly insinuated that YOU would have to do?
OR
Are not willing, for some odd reason, to open up a flow of information that would firstly be helpful to some of us older folks to see what this kind of product can do for us as well as the new investors and those that have taken over the household banking?

Briguy and Save2Retire@55

In regards to alerts, yes I am aware of email alerts and text alerts. Because we have BMO accounts and MasterCard they are set up to email. They have a good variety of options to turn on. BMO alerts are instantaneous. Not so great if you are out and you don’t have a lot of data to receive emails on mobile phone. I guess I would use the BMO email alert system as my yard stick. As you mentioned for MC they email for retrieving statement, amount due reminder and payment received.

I have a friend that had some issues with fraudulent purchases on his credit cards and PayPal. After listening to his ordeal it is a worthwhile step to turn on alerts.

Home Trust Visa email alerts have a very short list of options and the alerts are far far from instantaneous. And is not as good as BMO.

Amex email alerts also have a very short list of options and the only alert that appealed to me was a weekly summary in total with my choice of what day. I pay bills every Thursday and that is what day I picked. It works perfectly. They do email you to retrieve your statement. But is not as good as BMO.

BNS Mastercard wants you to go paperless and uses the same platform as iTrade but MC cannot email you to retrieve your statement but iTrade can. And for that reason and because their cash back is inconsistent with %’s they will lose my business soon after my cash back is credited to me.

Texts and mobile phone.
I never give my mobile phone number out to a bank or credit card company to call me or text me. Why would apps make your phone or tablet slower....do you leave them signed on all the time? I believe in two factor for mobile phone but haven’t done it....must kick my self. Passcode is 6 digit and has fingerprint access too. If you have what you consider sensitive APPS on your mobile phone then make sure you have a passcode and a secondary factor if possible......and leave those APPS signed off. And delete APPS you don’t use.....and you do have some, don’t you?

Comments.
Based on your needs and services offered in regards to alerts, paperless billing and etc. a list may allow you to choose wisely in these changing times.

And while I am not a spring chicken, I don’t and won’t become an old codger and not keep with what technological services that are being offered. Being stubborn to not make changes vs being open and select what you can use...get on with it and make things easier BUT in a safe and cautious way.

I think you are misunderstanding SIM hijack. A SIM hijack is usually when some one ports your phone number from carrier A to carrier B’s SIM. That means some one knows a variety of your correct name, number, address, PIN number, account number etc or spends time fraudulently extracting that information from your carrier....and that does happen. A SIM hijack will steal your phone number and then would begin to take your calls and texts. And just say you have an iPhone and the hijacked SIM is also in an iPhone and the hijacker knew your iCloud account ID and password they could use your iMessage and FaceTime.....but the latter is unlikely and quickly detectable. We have Public Mobile as a carrier and the “Community” there recommends to go back into your account and change your name or spell it incorrectly to help avoid a SIM hijack.

We have found in the past few months 2 handy and free things to use that eliminates cheque’s and a trip to bank. E-Transfers and mobile cheque deposit.

I know APPS have had a bad wrap by allegedly passing sensitive information to the source or? But has any told you about a bad banking or credit card APP? And look and the younger folks and those with a phone only and no computer .... they live and bank using those more readable APPS vs using a browser. And if I had one with a feature I would like to use I would keep the APP BUT would never leave it signed on nor would I use the “remember” option. So not an issue if you lost phone or more so if stolen.

Good practices.
Two factor as much as you can.
Use email for alerts. Think twice about having them texted.
I am, now, a bit more cautious on what I touch, Tim Hortons counters, ATM machines, credit card machines, escalator handles, gas pump key pads. Think about nose pickers, washroom goers that don’t wash hands, and workers with dirty hands that have poor hygiene. We now take sanitation supplies every time we go out and use it before we get back into car.

So thanks for reading my epistle. I am not trying to promote for any one to use an APP or Alert. But if you do find something listed, be open to at least try or rather than just saying this is not for me. I don’t see any issues if you see a benefit for you and you do things wisely.

I was just suggesting and now offering to do a list.

I just noticed the “Comparison of Services Offered by High Interest Savings Banks / Credit Unions : Services offered by high interest accounts” is missing some FIs that actually have a Mobile App but the chart does not show.