Important information about your Mobile Operating System

Please update the software on your phone or tablet before 1 July 2024

The information below is an update to a previous message which gave 31 March as a deadline for updating the software (operating system) on your mobile phone or tablet. To assist any customers whose devices may be affected, and to make sure you have plenty of time to update your software, we have now extended this to 1 July.

We would like to apologise for any concerns that this caused for customers, and want to reassure anyone affected that the app will still be available for use and they do not need to get a replacement phone.

1 July is a key date for any customer who uses our mobile app with a phone or tablet that has an operating system older than the following:

• iOS (Apple) devices using operating systems 14 and lower
• Android devices using operating systems 10 and lower

We want to ensure that any affected customers have enough time to update the software (operating system) on their devices in line with manufacturer recommendations. This is why we are extending support for customers on older operating systems until after 1 July.

After 1 July we can no longer offer support for the operating systems mentioned above.

This does NOT mean that affected customers will need to buy a new phone to use our app. After 1 July, customer devices will still have access to the app. Customers will still be able to send money, pay bills, view transactions, check balances and do all other online banking as normal.

However, any device that is still using an old operating system (OS 14 or lower for Apple devices and OS 10 or lower for Android), will not be able to update to any later versions of our mobile app. This means these customers:

• Will not have access to new features or improvements.
• Over time, access to existing features will also be affected.
• Very importantly, they will not be getting any Apple or Android security patches or updates.
• After 1 July, if a customer deletes the BOI app from a device that has not had its software updated, they will not be able to reinstall the app on that device. They will need to use a device using software that is OS 11 or above if it’s an Android, or OS 15 or above if it’s an Apple device. Alternatively they can use a Physical Security Key (see below).

Older versions of iOS and Android devices are not supported by Apple or Google, which means they no longer get updates from those manufacturers including security patches.

If a device does not include the manufacturer’s latest security patches, this could leave a customer’s accounts open to serious security issues and potential fraud. For this reason, we make sure that our app is supported by the most up-to-date operating system for both iOS (Apple) and Android devices.

An operating system or OS is the essential software that runs mobile phones or tablets. iOS (for iPhones) and Android (for most other phones) are the most used operating systems in the world. Device manufacturers regularly update this software, to ensure that the phone features, security and any apps you use can work at the highest levels.

You can check to see what operating system your device is using by checking the settings section. Some devices are set to update their operating systems automatically. These can also be updated manually, usually with some simple steps in the settings section of your phone or tablet.

If you cannot use the app through a mobile phone or tablet, you can still bank online through a computer by using a Physical Security Key or PSK. This small device generates instant codes that help you log in and do other banking tasks securely. Ordering a PSK

Devices and operating systems that we will support from July 1 2024

We support the following smart devices and operating systems only:

• Android phones and tablets using Android version 11 or higher
  Available from the Google Play store
• iPhones and iPads using iOS version 15 or above
  Available from Apple store

Restrictions

• Windows and Blackberry phones are not supported.
• Customers using Huawei cannot update their operating system since US authorities prohibited access to Android stores for those devices in 2019. Unfortunately, this is outside of our control. Most of the customer devices affected by the update issues covered on this page are Huawei mobiles.
• Biometric login using face or fingerprint cannot be enabled on rooted Android or jailbroken iOS devices, in other words devices where any of the manufacturer’s software restrictions have been removed.

If the software on your mobile phone or tablet is up to date then you don’t have to take any action. Thank you for keeping your devices up to date. This helps to keep you safe.

Some customers were worried that they would not be able to use mobile banking after 31 March. This is not the case, and we want to apologise to them for any confusion caused by our earlier message.

Some customers who had already updated to the latest operating systems on their devices were incorrectly told that they would need to update their device software. We apologise for that error.

We hope that the information contained in this update – and the extended date for updating software to 1 July – is of help to all of our customers.

Please get in touch if you have any questions relating to this software update.

Republic of Ireland: 1800 365 100.

Line open weekdays 9am-5pm including Good Friday and Easter Monday. Saturdays 10am-2pm until close of business on Monday, 8 April.

Northern Ireland and Great Britain: 0345 7365 555.

Line open weekdays 9am-5pm. Saturdays, Good Friday and Easter Monday 9am-2pm until close of business on Monday, 8 April.