Virgin Money Refuses Help to Provide Desktop App

alexkemp · 2026-09-12 12:42:44

I recently moved my bank from NatWest to Virgin Money (VM).

VM did their best to persuade me to download & use their mobile app but I refused. I'm an old codger & have lost 2 mobiles in my time. The police now refuse to accept any responsibility for lost items and, since mobile updates are few & far in between, I simply will not trust to store my financial details on a mobile phone.

VM do not have any equivalent of their mobile app for the desktop. I very recently had a bright idea…

I'm fully capable of programming in python. If I could get the VM text code for the mobile app I could (relatively) easily produce a Python program from it, perhaps even using AI in the process to do the bulk of the cross-conversion, and then tidy it all up by hand. VM could then have by return a desktop app that would work under any desktop OS.

I had cause to go into the Nottingham city-centre VM office this morning (Saturday 12 Sep 2026) to pay an invoice, and put the above to the service lady & got a number to contact head office. The response was: absolutely not. And it gets worse.

During the phone conversation with VM HQ it seemed from their responses that the reason for the refusal was that VM were placing company "secrets" into the text code. I have zero idea as to what those precisely were, but got the firm impression that they did not want me to see them. Jehoshaphat! but I hope that I am wrong in that, as they could easily be extracted from the app code.

Anyway, it seems that I can still not use Devuan to administer my bank account from my desktop, and nor will that change anyday soon.

Ron · 2026-09-12 13:38:38

If I were in your shoes, I'd find another bank again. Something smells rotten with what you described.

alexkemp · 2026-09-12 15:00:27

I'll take your advice under advisement, Ron, until I receive further confirmation.

NatWest was the first bank I met (or National Westminster Bank, as it was then in 1967 when I was 18), and all the banks that I have met then & since have been stupid beyond any reasonable excuse. I left NatWest because they have ceased to pay interest on positive balances. VM *do* pay interest, even if not much.

pcalvert · 2026-09-12 16:25:34

Android can be installed on a number of different devices besides phones. That being the case, one option would be to create an Android-based desktop-like system by installing LineageOS on something like a single-board computer (SBC) or a small Android TV box.

Check out the LineageOS wiki to see what kinds of devices it will run on:

https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/

delgado · 2026-09-13 11:04:51

In most cases: Banking applications will NOT work on free versions of Android or "rooted" devices. The application can detect that and then refuse to run. The device has to belong to Google, it's not yours.

If the shit hits the fan - I would "buy" a dedicated device for banking purposes only (like a tablet and a keyboard or a chromebook).

blackhole · 2026-09-13 13:03:14

You were never going to get the source code for their, most likely proprietary, banking app. I'm somewhat surprised that you were ever under that illusion?

It's likely that a third party develop the app, and that your bank don't have access to the sources anyway.

Last edited by blackhole (2026-09-13 13:03:49)

alexkemp · 2026-09-13 13:58:44

I was under zero illusions. If I don't ask I don't get.

zapper · 2026-09-13 16:56:02

Sounds like a terrible company...

Although have you tried the web browser approach?

IF they don't offer that, THEN they are SERIOUSLY bad.

blackhole · 2026-09-13 17:54:36

Almost every bank is a "terrible company", and none of those terrible companies are going to release the source code for their online banking apps...

Marjorie · 2026-09-13 21:10:08

Virgin Money is only one of several banks that you can only manage your account online through a mobile phone app. I think the newer challenger banks mostly work that way too.
Others traditional UK banks still do have webapps - I have accounts with Bank of Scotland and with Santander that do have webapps you can access through my browser.
I have a Barclaycard that recently discontinued their dedicated web app, though I can now access it through their Barclays portal, albeit they are still in the process of making it fully featured to manage the account.
However I recognise that there are limitation to banks webapp security - all the bank apps I'm aware of seem to still rely on text OTP messages for second factor security after user ID + Pin or password. I'm unclear whether they are therefore any more secure than their mobile apps, the one I have is certainly easier to use (only fingerprint required, though I'm pretty sure they also verify my phone).

Note that Virgin Money has been taken over by Nationwide. Not sure what this means for your online banking services with them going forward.

Last edited by Marjorie (2026-09-13 21:10:50)

tux_99 · 2026-09-13 21:43:54

Marjorie wrote:

I recognise that there are limitation to banks webapp security - all the bank apps I'm aware of seem to still rely on text OTP messages for second factor security after user ID + Pin or password. I'm unclear whether they are therefore any more secure than their mobile apps,

Using an offline card reader where you have to insert your bank card and then type your PIN to get an OTP code on the LCD-display of the card reader that you then enter in the browser based banking login is the safest of all second factor methods, far safer than anything smartphone based.

Nationwide actually has good browser based online banking and as a second factor they give you the choice of an offline card reader as described.

I wouldn't bank with any bank that doesn't offer this.

Last edited by tux_99 (2026-09-13 21:46:09)

alexkemp · 2026-09-14 02:14:39

NatWest were introducing apps for mobile phones when I moved my accounts to VM. My current service with VM is essentially identical to what I had with NatWest except that VM pay interest on +ve bank balances and Cash ISA (NatWest pay 0% on both). And the VM debit card is prettier (bright red) than the NatWest one.

My desire was simply to be able to do basic admin on my accounts from my desktop. I'm happy with a mobile to phone, take pictures & videos + text messages. But I will not add money to it.

What pleases me with Linux is the dedication to security, shown by the virtually daily updates plus the attitude of the opensource movement. That means that Devuan is a system that people can trust.

A mobile phone OS is a means to line the pockets of the proprietors that own it, and users are just their glove-puppets. Thus, I treat mobiles as something that I value but use at the end of a barge-pole supplemented with a clothes-peg (for my nose).

My actions with VM were gesture politics more than anything else. I did not expect much more than what happened, but if you do not try then nothing will change.

It has been very interesting to read folk's responses, and I thank you for that. Just maybe someone will waft these messages under the eyes of a VM executive that can make a difference and cause a desktop app to be written. It would be trivially easy to implement cp to a mobile app, and a damn sight more secure.

pcalvert · 2026-09-14 09:20:26

Why not use their website?

My Virgin Money | Sign in to your account | Virgin Money UK
https://uk.virginmoney.com/service/sign-in/

Do they limit what you can accomplish via their website?

Altoid · 2026-09-14 12:45:10

Hello:

Apropos of the original post:
---
UK.gov begins killing off passwords for 23 million users
Passkeys promise fewer phishing headaches – and £600 a day off Whitehall's SMS bill
by Carly Page @The Register - Mon 14 Sept 2026 // 09:16 UTC
https://www.theregister.com/security/20 … rs/5296088
---

Carly Page @theregister wrote:

There is also a less glamorous incentive for Whitehall: text messages cost money. The switch is already saving taxpayers nearly £600 a day in SMS costs, according to the government.

In the end, in 90% of cases it is all about money, be it the government (in this case the UK), banking or [fill in] institutions needing to use authentication.

Where I live, most banks, both public and private, have been closing branches all over.
Eventually, there will be none and banking will be a *smartphone thing*, where you have ended up being the banks' employee.
But worry not, you will still be paying through the nose for their 'services'.

The requirement of facial recognition to set up a bank/[fill in] provided application on a phone is a huge red flag for me: it is nothing but a metadata farming hustle in disguise and hidden behind a security measure, many times for a service which by any measure does not need that level of security. ie: looking up how much your bonds are worth once or twice a year.

More so if your PW expires in six months if you do not log in during that period.

The state owned bank (highly coveted by the usual privatising suspects) where I had chosen to have my salary deposited for over 25 years and where my pension was also deposited for 6 or so, one day decided that I could no longer do any sort of remote banking if not via a phone and their centralised application.

Being to all intent and purposes locked out of my account and not able to find a reasonable answer to the problem their actions generated for me and countless thousands of other pensioners, I told them in no uncertain terms to fuck-off and shove it.

The private bank I have used for the last 34 years or so is slowly heading that way.
For the time being, I can still choose to use a five digit F2A that is sent (after logging in) either to my cell phone or to the email address I have registered with them, which works just fine. The credit card account I have with that bank uses the same system, albeit with a six digit number.

Another account I have with a broker provided me with an application (Aegis) that runs on my phone.
It is set up with a unique QR code provided by them to set it up with and gives me a six digit F2A to enter after logging in to their secure web page.

That said, I have an absolute level of distrust for any and all banking applications wanting to run in a 'smartphone' as I consider the combination to be a recipe for disaster.

Best,

A.

Last edited by Altoid (2026-09-14 12:49:43)

alexkemp · 2026-09-18 12:05:16

pcalvert wrote:

Why not use their website?
My Virgin Money | Sign in to your account | Virgin Money UK
https://uk.virginmoney.com/service/sign-in/

I finally did this today.

My reason for moving to VM was that they paid interest on +ve account balances. Not much, but I was informed that they paid interest on the full balance. Last Wednesday my 1st paper statement arrived and I discovered for the first time that they only paid interest on £1,000 of the balance in the current a/c (this is 101 in winding your customers up).

I phoned up & spoke to Alan (very helpful, although his scottish accent was difficult for me). He said I need to move the excess money into a Saver account to get interest on it.

After Marjorie's message I wanted to discover how to organise online banking. Alan took me through setting it up under Chromium (FireFox is verboten). Reasonably easy, and the mobile is used to obtain a 4-digit code to enter to confirm status (standard practice now, even if Whitehall is trying to kill it).

I would still prefer a dedicated desktop app, which should afford better security.

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#1 2026-09-12 12:42:44

Virgin Money Refuses Help to Provide Desktop App

#2 2026-09-12 13:38:38

Re: Virgin Money Refuses Help to Provide Desktop App

#3 2026-09-12 15:00:27

Re: Virgin Money Refuses Help to Provide Desktop App

#4 2026-09-12 16:25:34

Re: Virgin Money Refuses Help to Provide Desktop App

#5 2026-09-13 11:04:51

Re: Virgin Money Refuses Help to Provide Desktop App

#6 2026-09-13 13:03:14

Re: Virgin Money Refuses Help to Provide Desktop App

#7 2026-09-13 13:58:44

Re: Virgin Money Refuses Help to Provide Desktop App

#8 2026-09-13 16:56:02

Re: Virgin Money Refuses Help to Provide Desktop App

#9 2026-09-13 17:54:36

Re: Virgin Money Refuses Help to Provide Desktop App

#10 2026-09-13 21:10:08

Re: Virgin Money Refuses Help to Provide Desktop App

#11 2026-09-13 21:43:54

Re: Virgin Money Refuses Help to Provide Desktop App

#12 2026-09-14 02:14:39

Re: Virgin Money Refuses Help to Provide Desktop App

#13 2026-09-14 09:20:26

Re: Virgin Money Refuses Help to Provide Desktop App

#14 2026-09-14 12:45:10

Re: Virgin Money Refuses Help to Provide Desktop App

#15 2026-09-18 12:05:16

Re: Virgin Money Refuses Help to Provide Desktop App

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