There’s one very simple reason why you shouldn’t rush out and buy a Fire Phone today, and that’s if you want Internet banking.
I suspect that thousands of bank customers have installed their banks app on their smartphones and don’t even think about how often they use it. It’s so simple to check your account balance or make instant payments with banking apps that it’s second nature to many. That’s where the Amazon Fire Phone is starting to show it’s weaknesses.
If you bank with NatWest, Santander, HSBC, Lloyds or TSB you’re out of luck. Search for RBS and all you’ll find in the way of banking is the 2014 Official RBS 6 Nations Championship App, nothing to enable you to check your bank balance or transfer your money. Barclays is slightly better, but don’t get too excited, they have a US Barclaycard app and an app for share trading, but nothing to manage your current account and savings.
The Fire Phone is probably great for novice users or for those who simply want deep integration with Amazon. But the current lack of apps clearly highlights it’s limitations. We only looked for banking apps and couldn’t find any for the main UK banks. What other apps do you use on a daily basis which also aren’t going to be available if you buy a Fire Phone today?
