Citibank iPhone App: Security or Convenience?

Remember those quaint old days when you used to get bills by mail, would pull out your check book and stamps and get down to killing some trees?

Although they’ve gone the way of the 8-Track…er…compact disc, it may not be a good thing that the initial paranoia consumers felt about the transition to the web has gone away.  Smart phones are giving us new reasons to think about how we bank – and the security of our information.  iPhone and Android phones now are routinely used to check balances, pay bills, transfer funds.  And while that’s great if you need to top up your balance before a major purchase, mobile computing is still working out its kinks.

Recently, Citibank made changes to their iPhone application which hint at those kinks.  After a regular security reviews, it was discovered that the company’s iPhone app was accidentally saving information related to the account in a hidden file on the iPhone.  The company notified users via a letter advising them to download the new app and change their access code.

What’s the moral of the story?  First of all, if you have a Citibank account and use the app, then make sure to download the updated version to avoid any problems.  But also be aware of the kinks.  Citibank was fortunately doing proactive reviews; but in this new mobile age, you still have to be cautious.