Comment by sokoloff
1 month ago
> I called their support line for a lost card, and had to go through to second level support because I didn't have the app.
What’s the alternative? The bank sending out a debit card to anyone who calls up and says “I’m @kristov, trust me…”
You were not able to served by the standard path, because you couldn’t authenticate yourself via the standard mechanism. You still got service by an alternate path. No different from opting out of the airport scanner; it takes longer and is a little less convenient, but you still get service.
Not sure if you're genuinely asking because there are a dozen proven ways to verify identity or residency either digitally and physically without being locked down to 2 mobile OSes owned and controlled by 2 American companies.
Exactly, as was demonstrated by GGP's "had to go through to second level support". That seems perfectly reasonable to me, yet seems somehow objectionable to GGP.
"Can you believe that I had to prove my identity to the support group in charge of requesting replacement cards in order to get a replacement card?!"
"Uh, yeah, that makes total sense; what part of this tale of woe is surprising or interesting?"
What’s the alternative? The bank sending out a debit card to anyone who calls up and says “I’m @kristov, trust me…”
Are you under the impression that this wasn't a solved problem for the half-century before "apps?"
Yes, there was some tiny fraction of fraud, but it's not like adding all these layers upon layers of technology has fixed anything. The difference is that instead of getting ripped off by one of the people in your own town, anyone anywhere on the planet can rip you off now.
Off the top of my head: going in-person to the bank, email, phone call or sms to a number that you previously informed to the bank (say when opening the account), otp a la authy or aegis. None of these require you to be on google or apple's walled garden.
Banks have been closing up their in-person services as fewer and fewer people use them.
https://www.kiplinger.com/personal-finance/banking/is-your-l...
> Since 2020, the rate of bank branch closures in the U.S. has doubled. The majority of those closures come from large and very large banks, contributing to an overall 5.6% decline in total bank branches nationwide since the start of the pandemic.
Nor did GGP's approach require them to be in google or apple's walled garden.
That's exactly the point: there's an easy and common method that many people choose to use, but there is still a perfectly working method for people who choose to not use apple or google.
the part you are missing is that this is the situation for now. Emphasis on for now. Google are already moving to restrict what software your phone can run i.e. they control your device.
Please, don't be so obtuse just for the sake of argument. Any rational, well-informed person can wee where this is going.
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Wait, how you being on the Google/Apple ecosystem help the identification process?
You need Google/Apple blessed phone to install most banking apps
Yes but that doesn't help the identification process itself, does it?
> opting out of the airport scanner
slightly OT, but where can you opt out of the scanner?
Every time I've tried they told me I won't be allowed through security unless I subject myself to the scanner, despite me protesting that they can search me however else they please.
Anywhere that US TSA runs the AIT scanners, you can opt out of them*.
That is domestic US airports plus airports like Toronto and Dublin where you, for practical purposes, clear into the US on foreign soil and land in the US as a domestic flight.
* - I think this only doesn't apply if your boarding pass got tagged with the dreaded "SSSS" enhanced screening tag, but that's a fairly rare corner case for most passengers.
My understanding, which may be wrong. It's been a few years since I did this dance.
You can opt out of the millimeter wave radar.
Opting out means you go through a metal detector, a 20-second pat-down and perhaps a hand swab for explosives sniffer.
If you have SSSS on your boarding card, that means the pat-down, hand swab and digging through your carry-on luggage happen whether you opt out of the mmwave or not.
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