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Pay securely with an Android smartphone, completely without Google services: This is the plan being developed by the newly founded industry consortium led by the German Volla Systeme GmbH. It is an open-source alternative to Google Play Integrity. This proprietary interface decides on Android smartphones with Google Play services whether banking, government, or wallet apps are allowed to run on a smartphone.

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[-] puntinoblue@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 days ago

I don’t use the phone that often as a debit /credit bank card but I use it for payments (bills invoices etc.), paying on line, transferring money to people and accounts, and just managing accounts. The phone app is very useful for those functions - especially if the alternative is going into a bank and queuing.

A phone OS that will not work with banking apps is not really a contemporary solution. iOS or Android are the only reliable options at the moment in the US/Europe - Iiuc Open Source Android has to sandbox Google Play for banking apps to work so that’s not viable long-term solution, as Google will only make that more difficult in the future.

Given the issues with the judges at ICC and US payment systems, building an alternative to Google and Apple is a high priority

[-] WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 1 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

The phone app is very useful for those functions - especially if the alternative is going into a bank and queuing.

the bank's web portal should also work for this.

if it refuses to open on your phone, try firefox and enable desktop mode for that tab

Iiuc Open Source Android has to sandbox Google Play for banking apps to work

that's not necessary but also not enough for it. the bank apps specifically check if you run a google/apple approved, unmodified operating system.

today it is not possible to pay with an open source operating system. somewhat of an exception is grapheneos, but even if you just build it from source for yourself, the bank's app will refuse operation.

and on top of that, google services are required too if you want to pay with your phone in shops.

so this is not something open source os maintainers can solve. it is a result of google engaging in illegal practices which are not prosecuted.

building an alternative to Google and Apple is a high priority

Technically... afaik most banks in the EU also support current non-android huawei phones, which have their own implementation of the play integrity service to lock you into the factory os. but huaweis are not better, probably worse.

this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2026
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