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Comment by jraph | Hacker News Reader

I live in Europe and I can use my bank just fine without their app.

I've read somewhere that some banks will let you use their SMS 2FA as long as you haven't already used their mobile app.

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Probably if you threaten to close your account they'll also change it. But you have to be willing to actually close your account.

Cool, good to know. When I first moved to Ireland you could get a hardware code generator too but I don’t know if that’s still a thing

Still a thing with some of the Finnish banks, as I've recently learned. In my bank it costs ~20€ - unless you can't physically use a smartphone, in which case it's free. But you kinda have to know that it exists.

> unless you can't physically use a smartphone

Like, because of a disability, or because you don't have a smartphone? In the latter case, would it work to just go to the bank with a dumb phone?

I think it's either. With Nordea, it's seemingly based on whether you are already using the mobile ID app or not.

They also have a different "Talk Device" that is specifically meant for people with disabilities and such, which is supposedly free to get once (80€ for replacements), but the page doesn't specify who can order it.

or if you work in a highly controlled location like a prison, and aren't ale to bring in a mobile phone

Barclays use both the physical hardware code generator in the UK as well as a virtual version in the app. The Bank staff also use the same physical hardware in the branch so I guess it will stay around for a while.

I use my bank's card reader to authenticate in the hopes that it will signal a need to keep supporting it. But the vast, vast majority of people just use a banking app so I fear it's a lot cause.

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