Cash? And avoid banks that force apps?
this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2025
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Privacy
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I am really pissed off because I use to be able to make payments with my phone using NFC just with the Deutsche Bank App, but they rolled out an update on 25th August and now it requires Google Pay and Google Wallet to function. Fuck that !
Try Curve. Or use SEPA.
Don't you still need to use the bank app for the 2FA? at least in EU it's becoming mandatory for banks to enforce some form of dynamic code verification, which often means you have to install a bank app for it. Which might not work on de-Googled custom firmware.
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Curve
How is it ranking privacy-wise?
it's like other big fintech, bad. The good thing is that works on GrapheneOS
Idk. They require your phone number, so make your opinion on that. They're based in the UK though.
In Spain a lot of baanks offers paying apps, apart there are also a lot of free EU paying apps, eg.
You can find more in AlternativeTo, there you can filter also by the country of origen.
https://alternativeto.net/software/paypal/?license=free&origin=eu
Any of them available to eu nationals living abroad like britain or n. ireland
I use OpenBank and they also provide their own nfc payments app on Android. It’s not a great piece of software, but it works and it successfully replaces Google Wallet for at least this part ( it keeps unselecting your card after every update).
Ty. Have you tested any of these? I've already read about taler but it was in alpha (or something like that)
I don't use any pay apps, less because I don't thist these, but I don't thrust the privacy of mobiles with banking data. Apart I don't need these, I have all shops, malls, banks and all what I need in a radio of less than 1 km arround my home. I always pay in the most private way, with cash. Anyway, If I need one day such app, probably I would use one of my bank, not a third party one.
This works for grocery shopping and so, but not so much for last-minute online transfers. You would need to physically move to your bank office every time you need to move money between bank accounts.
If I need one day such app, probably I would use one of my bank, not a third party one.
I think the issue is that many (most?) bank apps in the EU will simply refuse to work if your Android phone runs some custom firmware and/or lacks Google Play Services, as a "security measure". Until not so long ago, my bank's 2FA app crashed just because I was using a non-standard keyboard app.... (now it shows a big red warning, but at least it doesn't crash).
Was pleasantly surprised a few weeks back when Norway's biggest bank app released a hotfix because their recent release had issues with GrapheneOS.
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If you are in Spain you can use Bizum.
In the Netherlands, at least with ING, you can request standalone code reader and pay through any browser, like this:
Speaking as an ignorant American who still happily uses card, I have to ask:
PEOPLE PAY FOR SHIT VIA QRCODES??? O_O
Yep, in Belgium too. Can be directly at the cashier in a physical store, barber, etc or online e.g. food delivery. It's pretty efficient and AFAICT pretty low cost. Also does not have to rely on MasterCard or VISA.
Oh mate, you need to go to China and discover that shit! It was already everywhere back when I lived there in 2016 and I mean everywhere. Even the local dude selling flat bread for 50p accepted payment with his QR code. Amazing stuff, seriously.
I'm so sick and tired of being so far behind...
For payments between friends, we can request payments via QRcodes from our banking apps that friends scan with their banking apps. It’s secure as before you scan the QRcode, you can see the amount you’ll pay and when you scan it with your app, you’ll see the amount you’re going to pay and then you have to either use biometrics or your pin to confirm the transfer.
PEOPLE PAY FOR SHIT VIA QRCODES??? O_O
It's ubiquitous through much of SE Asia. Eg Thailand etc
That's something I did not know. Thanks for educating me!
Yes, this is correct.. not just Thailand, but also Malaysia (where I’m from), Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, and Cambodia..
Those aren't exactly qr codes, but rather a scan code, different thing.
Though yes, one could pay using qr here. But I never do it because anyone can make QR codes. With those scan codes you need more additional verification, it's safer.
Some enterprising individuals in the US figured out you could print out your Venmo QR and stick it to parking signs to get people to just send you money
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Honestly, it might be I'm wrong about this since I don't live in a big city so maybe it's different in like NYC or some shit, but I'm under the impression that QR Codes have kinda been dead in the US. At least I hardly ever see one in the wild anymore. Mainly I presume for that reason. It's a prime way for malware injection.
most places that use qr codes here have them on a display and change them every five seconds.
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I’m from a Southeast Asian country known as Malaysia, and yes, not only it’s a norm to use QR for making payments at shops and transfer money online here (we have a unified QR system called DuitNow QR), but also when paying at some shops in neighbouring Thailand and Singapore.
Ahh, no no. We can pay with card with no need for an app. This code reader thing can be used for 2FA when making an online payment or logging into the banking site, so one does not need to use a phone app.
Well that's interesting! :O
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AFAIK RaiPay is the only one in the Czech Republic, and it's available in some other countries Raiffeisenbank operates in. However, the main Austrian bank is one of the few institutions that haven't pulled out of Russia, so...
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I'm confused by the question. I use my French bank app without problem since day one on my Huawei.
You probably have a pseudo gplay version or microg
MicroG all the way, yeah. They had a version for the latest HarmonyOS on the week it was released in China.
Apkpure wasn't super clear on the dependencies so I was not sure, but I just looked on Aurora Store and they have a delightful system to rate app compatibility. https://plexus.techlore.tech/ Gives you no GMS rating and a separate MicroG rating.
Don't know, don't care - I use cash... :-)
Which is useless for non-local stuff
Then use your plastic card instead of an app
Many people use to attach the card in the smartphone's back to mimic the built-in NFC, that's a good solution but sometimes you wanna check your credits and make some operations.
Your banks are way more secure or limited. Here we just log in. Maybe get a text for a code.
Which I do so rarely, that my simple Visa/Dankort easily handles that...
curve app works without passing safety net. Im not sure if it works without play services tho.
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