Bank of Ireland mobile banking customers with older phones have less than two weeks to fork out hundreds of euro on a new device because the bank will stop issuing security updates for older operating systems by the end of the month.
Users of the banking app received a push notification on Tuesday that read: “Your BOI app will not be supported on this device after March 31 unless you update to Android 11 or higher.”
Customers with iPhones and iPads will need at least an iOS (Apple) version 15 operating system, which was only released less than three years ago. Version 11 of Android, the open-source operating system mainly developed by Google, was released under four years ago.
A notice published on the BOI website on March 7 said its mobile banking app will not work for customers who do not update their device by March 31.
Device manufacturers regularly update the software they use. When they do, older operating systems are discontinued, and older software that’s become outdated is no longer supported, the website said.
A spokesperson said: “If customers don’t update their device’s operating system, they will no longer receive BOI app updates from the 31st March.
“That does not mean that the app will not work in the short-term, but over time it will not work for customers as we add/update functionality. Customers should regularly update to the latest operating system so their device is not at risk from potential vulnerabilities.
“The operating systems that are being removed from support shortly have not been supported by either Apple or Google for more than a year, so they have not received any updates to address new vulnerabilities in the operating system in over 12 months.”
Customers with Huawei phones will also be unable to access the BOI mobile app from the end of the month, though they can still access online banking from a desktop or laptop if they order a physical security key from the bank.
Chinese electronics giant Huawei was prevented from using Google apps such as the Google Play store by the US in 2019, when then-president Donald Trump issued an executive order that effectively banned the use of telecommunications equipment from foreign firms deemed a national security risk.
The BOI spokesperson said its app “is only available via the Apple and Google Store. The US brought in some changes a number of years ago preventing Huawei from accessing the Android store. As a result, some Huawei customers have been unable to get updates. Up to that, the app was available to Huawei customers and many of those currently have access to the older version of BOI’s app.”
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