An app is faster than a browser. Open your browser (fesh, not while multitasking) and go to your bank, enter details etc etc
Open an app, enter details, done mate. You see what i mean?
I don't have an app for my bank, nipper.
It would be no faster than using a browser, little boy.
You would probably need to log in for an app, or a browser session, so there's no advantage there.
Banks tend to be quite twitchy about the security of sessions left open without regular validation, whatever the connection method. It's not like mobile phones have a fixed IP (which could be spoofed anyway). This is why banks are starting to use two-factor authentication. You can't get an app for that.
There's about an extra click involved in getting to the login page using a browser. Is it really worth massive investment to remove that one click? I doubt it. In fact here's what Barclays has to say on the subject:
Our Mobile banking service works on all major mobile phone brands, including Apple iPhone, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, HTC and Nokia
By the looks of it Natwest are using someone else's app (always confidence building) and there are a lot of other whining numpties asking why other banks aren't doing an iPhone app.
Possibly because they realise a browser is more secure than a third party app, but you probably know better than them, right nipper?