Is it worth paying for dedicated IP over VPN?

[Neo29]

It seems dynamic shared VPNs like ExpressVPN etc. may raise questions with the bank as you're using a different IP every time you log in, so I'm wondering if having a dedicated IP like what NordVPN offers (for an additional fee) is worthwhile to address this risk. Are there similar cheaper alternatives (i've heard of VPS hosting)?

 

[Percy]

It very much depends on what you are trying to do and what are the reasons for it. In most cases, I would say that the extra costs are generally not worth it. Like I say, it depends. If is only for your personal banking, either keep using as you are currently doing or just disable the vpn for that time. Another option would be to allow the banking app to access the internet directly, on VPN client that is called tunneling.

 

[Neo29]

Thanks. It is to avoid suspicions with the bank that I am not resident in the country I claim to be. So I want to give the impression I am in Country A when I'm actually spending a lot of time in Country B. Using a VPN keeps producing different IP numbers every time you reconnect, which can be perceived as odd by the bank. So I'm looking for a stable, consistent IP address that I can use to give the impression I'm based in Country A.

 

[Percy]

I guessed as much but thoght I would check. In that case definitely go with the dedicated IP address. If you are using on a desktop/laptop I would also suggest using a dedicated browser for the banking, do not delete the cookies. Make sure that all your bookmars on this browser are for local locations/events/organisations of where you want the bank to think that you are. The reason for this is that the IP address is only one of the markers that is used to determine your location. Bookmarks, browsing history and other factors are also relevant. So if I wanted to convince the bank that I am in Rome, I would use my a Rome IP address, would take sometime to browse local restaurant/libraries/local websites etc etc, would bookmark hyper local site and would not delete any cookies from this browser. To be really on the safe side, you could either use a different laptop or use a portable operating system (Windows or Linux).