Editor's Review
There is not a great deal to review here, and that is by design. The comdirect photoTAN App does one job: it reads the coloured mosaic that comdirect displays when you order a transfer, decodes it, and shows the transaction number together with the payment it belongs to. You confirm that the amount and recipient on the phone match what you typed on the computer, then enter the code.
Setup is the awkward part. Activation runs from a letter comdirect posts out, and the same applies again after a phone change or a factory reset, so switching devices is not a five-minute job. The app is tied to a comdirect account and does nothing without one.
A rating of 3.97 for a piece of banking plumbing is telling. The decoding itself is dependable and works with no signal at all; the complaints cluster around activation, moving to a new handset, and an interface that has aged. It works, but nobody installs it because they want to.
Features
Scans the coloured photoTAN matrix from a screen or a printed page
Displays the transfer amount and recipient alongside the generated code
Generates codes offline once the device has been activated
Device activation issued through a letter from comdirect
Pros
Code generation is quick and needs no data connection
Showing the payment details next to the code makes a tampered transfer easy to spot
Cons
Of no use at all without a comdirect banking account
Moving to a new phone means requesting postal activation and setting up again
The interface has not kept pace with newer banking authentication apps
Questions people ask
Does it work with other banks?
No. It is issued by comdirect and pairs only with comdirect accounts. Other banks that use photoTAN publish their own separate apps.
What happens when I change phone?
The activation does not transfer. You request a new activation, wait for the letter to arrive, and set the app up again on the new handset. Keep the old device working until that is done.
Does the app need internet access?
Not to produce a code. Decoding happens on the device, so it works with no signal. A connection is only needed for the banking session itself on your computer or browser.
