re: Online banking support for Linux?

[LM]

On Sat, Jun 13, 2020 at 12:01 PM
<libreplanet-discuss-request@libreplanet.org> wrote:
> I'm in Ontario, Canada. My credit union, Meridian, only supports
> Microsoft Windows and Max OS X for online banking.
> https://www.meridiancu.ca/About-Meridian/Privacy-and-Security.aspx under
> browser requirements.
>
> I doubt they have any legal or regulatory obligation to support Linux -
> but it's getting to the point where it's almost a necessity to bank
> online, especially with COVID-19. I think the government needs to step
> in to regulate online banking terms and conditions.
>
> Any thoughts on legalities?

I find the situation extremely frustrating as well.

There may be some legal grounds based on impairments and
accessibility.  In the US, there are 508E guidelines.  Canada may have
something similar in place.  However, I believe only government sites
are required to adhere to 508E guidelines.  I do remember a legal case
where someone sued a large chain of stores over accessibility (even
though it wasn't a government site) and won.  You can check with the
EFF regarding legal matters.

One plus is that many people are no longer using computers and only
have phones.  So, many banks are offering mobile apps in addition to
web access.  If a bank offers an Android mobile app, that should make
it easier to access the services on Linux systems.  There are several
projects in the works to run Android on Linux including libhybris.
One can also run Android-x86 or other similar Android distributions in
an emulator.  Replicant might be another option to look into.  Only
issue might be trying to get the app from the Android Play Store if
you don't want Play Store on your system.  If you can get the apk
file, you can load it directly.