14 DAY TRIAL // Another bank has just confirmed that it’s leaving Windows phones, and although an official reason was not provided, it goes without saying that the dropping market share of Microsoft’s mobile platform is behind this decision.
Volksbank no longer plans to update its app in the Windows Phone store, and according to a report from WindowsUnited, it could soon be pulled from the store.
The application already lacks essential features, and given the fact that no updates have been released in the last months, Volksbank was already believed to be planning to leave Windows Phone. And in a tweet this morning, the bank has officially confirmed that the Windows Phone app is no longer supported, so users’ only option is to point their browsers to the official site and access their accounts this way.
No plans for a Windows 10 Mobile app
As it happens every time when a Windows Phone developer pulls an app from the store, there’s a little hope that a Windows 10 Mobile version would be planned to take advantage of all the great features that the new OS brings.
Unfortunately, this is not the case this time, and Volksbank says that it’s not planning to launch a Windows 10 Mobile app, which means that this is pretty much the end of its online banking app on Windows phones.
Of course, Volksbank will continue to focus on improving its Android and iOS apps, but this isn’t a surprise at all, given the fact that most of the developers who left Windows Phone did the same thing.
Windows Phone has already dropped below the 1 percent market share, and now IDC estimates that the platform could drop to no less than 0.1 percent share by 2020. Developers hardly find a reason to stick with Windows phones these days, also as a result of Microsoft remaining completely tight-lipped on how it sees its mobile platform improving in the future.