A) That most Banks have web pages / websites which can be accessed via one or more of the above web browsers (AKA "Online Banking"), where the provided functionality is exactly the same, or very close to the functionality provided by stand-alone banking Apps
B) That the source code for any open-source web browser is available, and can be downloaded (A self-evident truth!)
From which the following understanding can be derived:
C) The security for the transactions (user authentication, authorization, etc., etc.) is NOT provided on the client side (the user's computer or smartphone) by an obfuscated "binary black box" piece of software where source code is not provided, but rather on the server side (the Bank's side!)
(Oh sure, Web Browsers provide encryption to prevent the middle segment of the communication path, the Internet, from listening in, but the encryption libraries of open-source web browsers are also typically themselves open-source, thus easily transferred to / imported into the source code bases / software component stack -- of other Apps!)
Well, if we know A), B), and C), then we also understand that a truly Open-Source Banking App, giving exactly the same security guarantees that an Open-Source Web Browser does today, is possible!
Such an app, if it were to exist, due to its open-source nature, would not be bound by artificial constraints, such as the absence or presence of an underlying rooted Smartphone, or not...
Also, in theory such an App, were it to exist, could be ran on very minimal, possibly more secure (than your average bloated Smartphone) alternative hardware...
Also, if you think about it... Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency apps -- are fundamentally that App (!) -- just that they use the Blockchain, and not a Bank, as the back-end! :-)
You know, you have a payment-provider App. It could have any number of back-ends to it... Bank, Blockchain, ?, ???
Consider an Open-Source Web Browser (Chromium, FireFox, ?, ???, or any open-source browser from: https://github.com/nerdyslacker/desktop-web-browsers).
OK.
We know the following:
A) That most Banks have web pages / websites which can be accessed via one or more of the above web browsers (AKA "Online Banking"), where the provided functionality is exactly the same, or very close to the functionality provided by stand-alone banking Apps
B) That the source code for any open-source web browser is available, and can be downloaded (A self-evident truth!)
From which the following understanding can be derived:
C) The security for the transactions (user authentication, authorization, etc., etc.) is NOT provided on the client side (the user's computer or smartphone) by an obfuscated "binary black box" piece of software where source code is not provided, but rather on the server side (the Bank's side!)
(Oh sure, Web Browsers provide encryption to prevent the middle segment of the communication path, the Internet, from listening in, but the encryption libraries of open-source web browsers are also typically themselves open-source, thus easily transferred to / imported into the source code bases / software component stack -- of other Apps!)
Well, if we know A), B), and C), then we also understand that a truly Open-Source Banking App, giving exactly the same security guarantees that an Open-Source Web Browser does today, is possible!
Such an app, if it were to exist, due to its open-source nature, would not be bound by artificial constraints, such as the absence or presence of an underlying rooted Smartphone, or not...
Also, in theory such an App, were it to exist, could be ran on very minimal, possibly more secure (than your average bloated Smartphone) alternative hardware...
Also, if you think about it... Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency apps -- are fundamentally that App (!) -- just that they use the Blockchain, and not a Bank, as the back-end! :-)
You know, you have a payment-provider App. It could have any number of back-ends to it... Bank, Blockchain, ?, ???
You tell me... :-)