Practical answer

How do I bank without a smartphone in my pocket?

Banking is one of the easiest things to move off the phone: web banking, phone banking, and cards all still work.

Almost everything a banking app does, a bank's website does. The exceptions are worth planning for.

  • Balances, transfers, and bill pay: use web banking on a computer.
  • Mobile check deposit: this genuinely needs a camera and an app. Use a tablet, a stationary smartphone, or the branch.
  • Card alerts: switch to text or email alerts instead of push notifications.
  • Tap to pay: a physical card works everywhere your phone did.

The real dependency is the login code

Most banks text or push a verification code. Make sure that code arrives on the device you actually carry, or on an authenticator that lives on the computer. Sort this out before you switch phones.

Still not sure this works for your life?