Santander Mobile Banking App: what's it like to use for current account holders?

Find out how the Santander Mobile Banking App stacks up on security, logging in, making payments, and more.

If you’re thinking of switching current account, one of the things you should consider on top of the benefits is how good the mobile banking app is.

With more and more of us choosing to bank online especially through our mobile phones, it makes sense to go for a bank or building society that can meet your on-the-go needs.

Here, we take a look at the Santander Mobile Banking App features, security and more.

You should also have a read of our first direct, Halifax, NatWest, Barclays and TSB app reviews to see how it compares.

Why Santander?

As of January 2019, 5.3 million people had switched to Santander since the launch of Current Account Switch Service.

One of its best deals is the 123 Current Account, which offers 1.5% interest on balances up to £20,000 and up to 3% cashback on household bills, for a £5 monthly fee.

Who can get the Santander app? 

The Santander Mobile Banking App is available for download from the Apple App Store and from Google Play.

So iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch plus Android phone and tablet users can benefit.

The Santander Mobile Banking App isn't available for Windows Phone and Blackeberry users.

What you can see

You can view and manage a variety of accounts you have with Santander like your current account, savings, credit cards, mortgages, loans, investments and insurance.

For this review we are going to be looking at what you can do to manage your current account with the app.

What you can do

The Santander Mobile Banking app lets you perform a variety of functions including:

• Check balances, statements and recent transactions;
• Set up, view or cancel Direct Debits;
• Set up, view or cancel Standing Orders;
• Set up, view or delete payees;
• Split a bill to let friends know their share and your bank details for payment;
• Manage Retailer Offers (cashback offers available through your debit card);
• Make payments to a person or company you’ve paid before and set up a new one;
• Transfer money between Santander accounts;
• Apply for other Santander products;
• Set up email and text alerts (like money leaving your account);
• View pending payments;
• Report a lost or stolen card;
• Find your nearest Santander branch.

Security

Santander uses a One Time Passcode (OTP) when you want to set up a new payee and change the reference for a payment.

This is a randomly generated code consisting of letters and numbers sent by text to your phone that you will need to use to perform certain tasks like creating a new payee.

For many this is better than having a separate key card device that you use to generate a random number.

The app does not allow screenshots of information for security reasons and logs you out after five minutes of inactivity, something that cannot be changed, unlike other apps.

Worried about security? Have a read of our guide to the most and least secure banks. 

What we like

Here’s a few of the things we like about the Santander Mobile Banking App.

It’s easy to log in

There are multiple ways to log into the app, and the most convenient is the Fingerprint Login. 

This is easy to set up if you have already enabled Touch ID on your phone and if you have logged in manually once, you can then switch to just using your fingerprint.

If you do not want to use your fingerprint, you can simply log on using the same 5-digit Security Number that you would use when logging onto your online banking.

Initially logging into the app is pretty simple as long as you remember your online banking details.

You will need your online ID number and to input three randomly selected numbers from your six-digit security number.

This is relatively simple and more convenient compared to other apps which sometimes require a separate key card that generates a random code to get in and use all the functionality.

So you don’t need an extra device to log in, set up a new payee or make changes. However, some would argue that this type of log-in is less safe than using a separate device.

You can see rewards at a glance

Another nice feature of the Santander Mobile Banking App for current account users is that you can see how rewarding your account is at a glance.

The app shows how much cashback and interest you have earned in the last 31 days and since you first opened the account – frequently reminding you how valuable the account is.

You can earn cashback on the go

The app allows you to manage your Retailer Offers.

Retailer Offers is a Santander reward scheme that allows current account customers to earn up to 15% cashback with selected retailers, when they spend using their debit card.

The app allows you to pick new offers as they become available and see what existing offers you have chosen to spend in store or online.

You can set up and use mobile to mobile payments

The Santander Mobile Banking app is also set up for Paym.  

This allows you to use a mobile number to send money to another person set up on the service.

Paym doesn’t require any sort codes or account numbers, you just need to set up your number to make and receive payments, which can be done from the app.

Like most other online banking services, Santander now asks why you are making a payment. 

This is a feature included to help customers to be wary of scams, with safety messages and tips included depending on why you are transferring your money. 

For example if you select ‘House or large purchase’, the app will show you a message recommending that you check the bank details personally with your payee to ensure that the details replaced with a scammer’s bank details.

You can create alerts

The app also allows you to set up alerts that lets you know when a certain amount leaves your account or when your balance is reaching a certain level.

It's handy if you don't tend to log into your bank account regularly.

What we don’t like

Here are some of the downsides to the Santander Mobile Banking App.

There’s no running total

The Santander app shows transactions coming in and going out but does not give you a running total of your balance.

You can see your balance in the box at the top but it’s not clear how individual incomings and outgoings have impacted your cash flow after each transaction.

Pending payments don't display

The Santander app has functionality to show pending payments, but in my experience they never show up.

Changing payment reference is a pain

You need a One Time Passcode when changing the reference for a payment even if the person you are paying is already set up on your account.

If you’re lazy (like me) you’ll end up not bothering and have a lot of inaccurately labelled payments, making it harder to see what you’re spending money on.

There's no way to say if you’re going abroad

The app doesn’t have a feature to let Santander know you are planning to go or are already on holiday, so it doesn’t block your card when you try to use it abroad.

This is lacking compared to Lloyds Bank and Halifax which let you notify them through their apps.

There’s no budgeting tool

Santander’s banking app doesn’t offer any in-app budgeting tool to help you manage your money and see clearly what you are spending on.

However, you can use its separate Spendlytics app for iOS and Android devices to monitor your spending and set goals.

You can’t update personal details

If you want to change personal details like your address, you won't be able to do it using the app. Instead you will need to log onto online banking using a laptop or PC.

What other customers think

Google Play Store rating: 4.6 out of 5

Apple App Store rating: 4.8 out of 5

What do you think?

Have you ever used the Santander Mobile banking App? Let us know what you think about it using the comment section below.

And that's the end of our review. Keep an eye out for more entries in this series in the coming weeks. 

More on banking:

The best UK packaged bank accounts

The best high-interest current accounts