alt Hacker NewsI don't understand the sentiment - how does relinquishing control of the hardware help us? I see a possible future where the banks/governments give the people devices to use for these things, and I don't like this future, as these would surely become spy instruments.
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> how does relinquishing control of the hardware help us
It's not relinquishing control, but separation of concerns for hardware.
Bank should manage their hardware, not your hardware.
> the banks/governments give the people devices to use for these things,
The devices will cost "a reasonable amount" and have GPS tracking "for your safety".
It sounds like an implementation of the Orwell's 1984 telescreen
In what way, if supplied by the bank and used only for contacting the bank to do banking, could a device become a spy instrument?
Kicking banks off the internet/apps would make Android and Apple less cushy.
Not OP, but sharing the sentiment (never had banking or similar software on a phone, yet using ATMs, banks' web interfaces, offices). Avoiding interaction with a bank completely is rarely viable these days, and they will run their software on their hardware to operate either way (whether it is an ATM, a bank office, or a website). I do not see it as relinquishing control of the hardware, since you are not expected to control a bank's hardware in the first place. While setting it on your phone comes with the usual risks of running proprietary software on your machines, such as sneaky data collection. If banks/governments will give mobile devices to people for that, those may act even a little more like electronic ankle bracelets, but they would also be isolated from your other data and software; in places with near-mandatory government software, some choose to create such an isolation by having multiple devices for different purposes.