The online banking security paradox: why VPN protection is a problem (and how to solve it)

Have you tried logging into your bank account to pay a bill, only for the page to freeze and present you with endless CAPTCHAs? The culprit may be your VPN.

Relying on sophisticated anti-fraud systems, banks are highly sensitive to suspicious IP addresses and unusual login behavior. Even the best VPNs can trigger these security alerts simply by performing their core functions: masking your IP address and encrypting your metadata.

Split tunneling resolves these issues by allowing you to choose which data streams are protected, resulting in faster, more stable connectivity without entirely compromising security.

What is split tunneling?

Split tunneling routes specific data through the VPN while sending the remainder through your local Internet Service Provider (ISP). This allows you to keep general online activity encrypted while routing banking connections directly through your local ISP for an uninterrupted connection.

While this might appear to reduce protection, banking applications already employ stringent security protocols, relying on HTTPS and TLS encryption. Because banks are inherently secure, a VPN adds minimal extra protection for these specific connections.

In fact, when connection issues arise, many users simply deactivate their VPN entirely and expose all of their background data to the local network.

Split tunneling addresses this problem through two main methods. App-based split tunneling allows users to assign specific applications to either the VPN or the standard internet connection.

Meanwhile, URL-based split tunneling routes traffic based on the destination website or domain. While URL-based routing offers more precise control, it can be more complex to configure.

The primary trade-off is visibility. Data routed outside the VPN is no longer encrypted or masked, leaving that specific traffic visible to your ISP and local third parties.

Surfshark — the best cheap VPN

Surfshark offers one of the best split tunneling features available. Although it only introduced the functionality to macOS last year, its mobile split tunneling tool (called Bypasser) allows you to easily select specific apps to bypass the VPN tunnel.

It is also considered our second-best VPN available overall, and the top budget choice. If you are interested in trying out Surfshark's split tunneling feature, you can take advantage of its free 7-day trial on mobile.

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A stream of benefits

To simplify configuration, many major VPN providers build basic split tunneling directly into their desktop and Android clients. These clients can automatically exclude known banking or location-sensitive applications from the VPN tunnel.

Location-reliant services — such as food delivery, logistics, and weather applications — function more efficiently outside a VPN tunnel, where an accurate local IP address is required to provide relevant local data.

Other items that benefit greatly from this system include printers and other smart hub devices, which often lose functionality if forced to go through the VPN; by split tunneling them outside your protected VPN traffic, you can continue to print while still watching your favorite TV show.

However, split tunneling faces limitations on Apple platforms. Strict network architecture rules within iOS and macOS frequently restrict or entirely block native split tunneling capabilities.

For traffic left outside the VPN tunnel, alternative security methods (such as Tor or proxy servers) can still protect your IP address.

Moreover, using split tunneling on a work computer could have serious security consequences if internal corporate information is accidentally transmitted outside the encrypted network.

Ultimately, split tunneling provides granular control over how you route your internet traffic. Rather than operating as an all-or-nothing security measure, it allows you to customize your protection levels to balance security with day-to-day usability.