According to the PSD2 directive, strong customer authentication (2FA) is required at least every 90 days. However, depending on the bank, it may be required more frequently. Some banks require 2FA for every account refresh (such as Commerzbank and C24), while others also require a CAPTCHA (e.g., DeutschlandCard). Others, like American Express, require login via their website in a WebView, which significantly prolongs the update process. Third-party providers have no control over how often a bank requests 2FA; they can only integrate workarounds into their apps.

The Outbank app allows you to determine how often each account should be refreshed, helping you save time without missing any important changes.

You can find the account refresh settings under ‘Settings’ > ‘Refresh Accounts’ on iOS and Android or ‘Settings’ > ‘General’ > ‘Refresh Accounts’ on macOS.

App-Start Account Refresh

When you enable this setting, Outbank will automatically update all accounts set to 'ON' refresh interval after the app starts, provided the last update was more than 8 hours ago (on iOS/Android) or longer than the manually set interval.

On macOS, you can customize the default interval for app-start updates, ranging from 2 hours to once daily. On iOS and Android, the default interval is set to 8 hours and cannot be manually adjusted.

Set Refresh Interval Per Account

You can set an individual refresh interval for each account. Choose from the following options:

• Every 2, 4, 8, or 12 hours, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually.

• If an account's refresh interval is set to 'ON,' it will always be updated during an overall refresh.

• If the refresh interval is set to 'OFF,' the account will be completely excluded from the overall refresh but can still be manually updated at any time.

This setting applies to app-start account refreshes, background refreshes, automatic and manual overall refreshes, and when refreshing a specific account group.

Tip: For fixed-term deposit accounts and insurance policies with only a few transactions throughout the year, we suggest setting a less frequent refresh interval. Accounts that do not require 2FA, can be refreshed more frequently.

Manual Account Refresh

Accounts excluded from the overall account refresh or set to a long interval can still be manually updated at any time.

• On iOS/Android: Swipe right over the account cell or pull down the transaction list after selecting the account.

• On macOS: Use the refresh button.

Fewer TAN Requests with Account Grouping

Reduce TAN requests by grouping all accounts from the same bank login into one account group. When you update the account group (iOS/Android: Swipe right on the account group header; macOS: Click the ‘Refresh’ button on the account group header) only a single authentication will be needed for the entire group.

To create a new account group:

• iOS/Android: Go to ‘Settings’ > ‘Personalization’ > ‘Account List’ > ‘Account Groups’ > ‘New Group’, add a name for the group, and select all accounts from the same bank login.

• macOS: Click on ‘Options’ > ‘Edit Groups’ to create a new account group.

Important: Make sure that all accounts in the group have the same refresh interval.

If you are using 'Secure Sync'

The account refresh settings apply per device. If you use cross-device synchronization, you can set different preferences on different devices.