Bank of America has followed through with the removal of their app from the Windows Phone and Windows Stores. In addition, the app itself no longer functions, which is a departure from the route Chase Bank is taking.
Bank of America announced at the end of January that they were discontinuing support for their Windows and Windows Phone apps due to low market penetration. As an alternative, the company has told customers that they can use the online web version on their mobile site.
However, as a cruel twist in the matter, it appears that Bank of America's mobile website does not work with Internet Explorer 11 on Windows Phones. Entering in your username and tapping the 'Continue' button results in no action or access. Between the non-functioning app and a hobbled website, Bank of America customers with Windows Phones are truly sidelined.
There is no evidence that the bank has plans for a Windows 10 app for the fall, leveraging Microsoft's new universal development platform. Assuming market share grows for the Microsoft ecosystem, it is plausible that they company returns at a later time.
Even in a best case scenario, we are likely looking at a year or so before any Windows 10 app solution could be delivered. Alternatively, the bank may take advantage of Microsoft's forthcoming web-apps for Windows 10. That system delivers integrated web-apps through the Store that can use system resources like notifications, making them similar to native apps but without the development time.
For now, Bank of America customers will have to wait until the website gets a fix for Windows Phones or the easier solution: just switch banks (cough, Wells Fargo, cough).
