CIBC Introduces an iPhone Banking App
CIBC’s introduces a dedicated online banking application for iPhone/iPod Touch.
Banks may be seen as bureaucratic and slow-moving, but on the technology front, many were quick to adopt automation and other methods to reduce labour costs and improve efficiency.
ATMs made their first appearance more than 40 years ago and now have proliferated to every other street corner, gas station and grocery store.
Some financial institutions such as President’s Choice Financial (backed by CIBC) are even branch-less, offering all their services online, through the phone or at an automated banking machine.
ATMs have been around for over 40 years with the first machine making its appearance in 1968 in Dallas, Texas. Consumers now have a plethora of ways doing their banking.
CIBC is now the first bank to introduce yet another method: a dedicated, secure iPhone & iPod application.
For those feeling left out (like me with my Windows Mobile smartphone), there is http://cibc.mobi, which is accessible from any Internet-capable smartphone’s web browser.
The new CIBC application allows customers to use their existing online banking login to:
- Check account balances and transaction history
- Pay registered bills
- Transfer funds between accounts
- Send INTERAC Email Money transfers (a lifesaver when I was in college)
Using the built-in GPS, it can also find the closest branch or ATM if you need to perform brick-and-mortar transactions (at least until e-cash becomes available).
Check it out at http://www.cibc.com/mobile/
First, the banks are bureaucratic, slow and the only reason they gleefully cut costs (labour) is not so much with true efficiency in mind. Rather with their own individual bottom line in mind, that being the millions of dollars of bonus money each executive takes home at the end of the year after receiving a substantial six-figure salary plus other bonuses. This while the laid-off Troglodytes toddle off to never-never-land despairing and wondering where their next meal will come from. Caveat emptor: ensure there are no hidden fees associated with the application. When petting a snake, always check for fangs.
“With CIBC Online Banking, you can do your day-to-day banking anywhere you use a computer with Internet access WITHOUT service fees in addition to the fees charged to your CIBC accounts.* And with the additional protection of the CIBC Online Security Guarantee, you can bank worry free.”
http://www.cibc.com/ca/how-to-bank/online.html
I’ve been CIBC since I was 12 or so and was recently very impressed when they called me to discuss the bad banking experience I had tweeted about on Twitter so they could improve their customer service. Apparently they have a “team” that monitors their brand online.
Phil so you don’t like banks. The real answer should be is the app OK.
I am installing now will provide some feed back later
Hello all, I have down loaded this app and tested it. It works fine, just the same as logging on from my browser but more readable on my iPod touch.
A word of warning however, I am using this app behind my own router/firewall and so I am not to concerned about safety and security. Using any financial wireless app. in the wild however has risks associated with it.
Online banking is secure. All traffic is encrypted.
In a regular browser, you’ll see “https://” instead of “http://” indicating that it is “S”ecure.
CIBC, like all other banks, guarantees online security. You will not be held liable for unauthorized access to your online account (granted you haven’t given out your password, etc.)
Online banking guarantees:
CIBC: http://www.cibc.com/ca/legal/online-banking-guarantee.html
BMO: http://www4.bmo.com/bmo/portal/cda/popup_template/0,2284,35649_38681369,00.html
TD: http://www.td.com/privacyandsecurity/guarantee.jsp
Royal: http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/online/rbcguarantee.html
Scotia: http://www.scotiabank.com/guarantee
VanCity: https://www.vancity.com/ContactUs/WaystoBank/OnlineBanking/
There is never a guarantee of online security. No matter what the bank promises.
Thank you for your article on CIBC Online Banking App for the iPhone. While I do not personally bank with CIBC I am impressed by their first effort (1.0) for the iPhone App. I have downloaded both Scotiabank and BMO since I deal with both, but their 1.0 App doesn’t even come, sadly, close to the CIBC one. For actual online banking the Scotiabank App takes you to the Safari browser whereas from the looks of it the CIBC one allows you to bank from within the App itself! I hope that both Scotibank and BMO sit up and take note of this and release a 1.1 Version soon incorporating these ideas!
As regard to Phil’s comment. From personal experience I can only say since the banks have become more automated making it easier for people to do banking on our terms and not theirs I haven’t seen a decrease in staff at our local bank (Scotiabank). In fact, it seems just the opposite as more paperwork is generated and staff are required to keep on top of it.
Just my two cents worth……..
I agree with Phil. With consideration of your comment regarding an increase in staff, in my opinion, it’s because they charge us for all kinds of fees, and so need more staff to help manage all the money that leaked from our accounts. Just because the “fee” doesn’t specify a particular name, doesn’t mean that it’s not there. Banks are so busy poking holes in our accounts, they have to create distractions to cover up all the banging noise while they’re hard at work.
Hang on to your two cents tight, the bankers are lurching…!
What I am wondering is how the application itself makes use of the userid and password. Yes, https will encrypt the conversation between the device and the server, but are the userid and password stored locally on the hand held device itself?
If the userid/password are stored on the iPhone, it is possible that someone could hack the iphone and extract that information. Recently, a vulnerability has been reported (and patched) where information could be extracted from a locked iphone. The iphone needs to be physically accessed though. So losing your iphone would could put it into the hands of someone capable of hacking into it. To mitigate this risk, any userid/passwords stored on an iphone should be encrypted locally as well.
Hopefully CIBC has implemented the application correctly so that it does not store any userid/password locally or if it does store it locally, it is not stored in plain text.
I would hope if it’s stored locally that it’s encrypted. There are a multitude of password storage programs on the various smartphone platforms (BlackBerry’s Password Keeper, Windows Mobile SplashData, etc.) and they’re all encrypted.
It would be _really_ stupid to store it in plaintext. Another method would be to use something like a one-way hash (e.g. MD5) and store & transmit that string instead of the actual password. (How most online forums, content management systems, etc. store their information in their databases: each time a user logs in, the submitted password is sent through the hash and the resulting string [which can't be decrypted back to plaintext] is compared to the one stored on the server.)
Hi Jeremy,
Thanks for the comments. I’ll just have to wait for the details of the application before trying it out. I am interested in using it. It would be very convenient. I just want to check it out before I do.
I imagine that there will be other similar type of apps coming out in the near future for various purposes. Here’s hoping that security best practices are built into their designs.
Thanks,
Frank
Worse comes to worst, just don’t save your info. It’s a hassle to input, but using the .mobi site, you’re only allowed to save your Convenience Card # and not the password. If your browser has a password manager, that’s separate and encrypted.
Lastly, physical security is key. i.e. don’t lose it. Apple has the MobileMe appliccation and there are tons of stories of people recovering and even assisting police catch the thieves of their iPhones. My Xperia locks automatically after 10m of idle and deletes all the data after 3 wrong attempts.
http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/iPhone-OS-3-1-3-fixes-vulnerabilities-920756.html
“…Other vulnerabilities include a possible disclosure of information issue that could allow a person with physical access to a locked device to bypass the lock screen and gain access to a user’s data…”