It's the first question almost everyone asks, and it deserves a straight answer: most UK banking apps work on GrapheneOS, a handful need a setting changed, and a few refuse to run at all. Which group your bank is in matters more than anything else about switching. So check it before you buy a phone, not after.
One thing doesn't work, full stop: Google Wallet's tap to pay. More on that, and what to use instead, further down.
Why some banking apps object
Many banking apps ask Google, through a service called Play Integrity, whether your phone is running software Google has certified. GrapheneOS isn't certified by Google. That's not because it's less secure; it simply isn't Google's. In GrapheneOS's own words, it “passes the basicIntegrity check but isn't certified by Google so it fails the ctsProfileMatch check.” Most banks only ask for the basic check, so their apps run normally. A few insist on the stricter one, and those apps won't open. GrapheneOS deliberately doesn't fake its way past the check, because a fake answer breaks every time Google tightens it.
There's a better option for banks, and it isn't a secret. Android has built-in hardware attestation, which can confirm the phone is genuine and that GrapheneOS is properly signed. GrapheneOS publishes an attestation guide for app developers explaining exactly how. A few apps have done it; most banks haven't bothered yet.
Most banking apps also expect Google Play to be on the phone. On GrapheneOS that's optional: you can install sandboxed Google Play, which runs as an ordinary app with no special access to the rest of your phone. As the GrapheneOS guide puts it, the Google Play apps “are simply regular apps” that you install in one profile, and they stay in that profile. Most of the banks below were tested with it installed.
UK banks: what people are reporting
These come from the community compatibility list at PrivSec.dev, where GrapheneOS users submit and update reports. It's crowd-sourced, and GrapheneOS itself makes no guarantees about it. A bank can break things with one app update and fix them with the next, so treat this as a snapshot from September 2026, not a promise. The month shown is the latest report we could find.
Reported working
- Starling: working (August 2026).
- Monzo: working (August 2026). Install sandboxed Google Play so notifications arrive.
- Nationwide: working, with or without Google Play (January 2026).
- HSBC UK: working (September 2025). It objects if USB debugging is switched on, which most people will never touch.
- Wise: working (December 2025).
- PayPal: working (September 2026).
Working, with one setting changed
These run once you switch off secure app spawning for that app. It's a GrapheneOS hardening feature that can be turned off app by app, so the rest of your phone keeps it.
- Barclays and Barclaycard: working in your main profile once the setting is off. Reinstall the app afterwards (August 2026).
- Metro Bank: an update in May 2026 needed the setting off (June 2026).
- Tesco Bank: working with the setting off and Google Play installed (July 2026).
Mixed reports
- NatWest: sometimes opens, often says the device is unsupported (July 2026). Royal Bank of Scotland needs Google Play to open at all; the latest report is from February 2024.
- Santander: can show a “rooted device” screen. Users get past it by approving a login from the website first (February 2026).
- Chase UK: broke in July 2026 and worked again after a GrapheneOS update. But customers who complained say Chase told them its terms require a Google-certified phone (August 2026).
- Revolut: listed as working, but in August 2026 some users found Google Play marking it incompatible, or the latest version showing an error.
- TSB: an update in November 2024 stopped logins, and the reports since then conflict.
- first direct, Virgin Money, the Co-operative Bank: listed as working, but the latest confirmations we could find are from 2023–2024, which is too old to rely on.
Doesn't work
- Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland (all Lloyds Banking Group): the apps won't let you log in, or claim the phone is “rooted” when it isn't (reports from late 2025 into 2026).
- M&S Bank: blocked by the Play Integrity check (August 2026).
If your bank isn't here, search the full list. It also covers building societies, credit cards and investment apps.
Paying by phone: the one that doesn't work
Google Wallet won't let you pay contactless on GrapheneOS. Google's own help pages say Wallet may not work in shops on phones that run a custom ROM or modified software, and GrapheneOS counts as that. It isn't a bug waiting for a fix.
What people use instead:
- Your card, or a watch. Still the simplest answer.
- Curve Pay. UK users report it works as a tap-to-pay wallet with sandboxed Google Play installed; a UK tester paid with it in June 2025. It's a third party that sits between you and your card, so read what it sees before you sign up.
If your bank won't play ball
- Use the bank's website in the phone's browser. Every high-street bank has one. If your bank approves logins through its app, ask whether it offers a text-message code or a card reader instead.
- Give banking its own profile. GrapheneOS lets you set up a separate user profile with sandboxed Google Play in it. Your banking apps live there, and the rest of your phone stays Google-free.
- Keep your old phone at home for the one app that won't cooperate. It's not elegant, but it works.
- Tell your bank, politely. Point them at GrapheneOS's attestation guide. Banks change when enough customers ask.
None of this is a reason not to switch. It's a reason to check your bank first. If you haven't picked a phone yet, our guide to which Pixel to buy covers that, and the free de-Google guide walks you through the rest, including setting up sandboxed Google Play.