Earlier quoted context omitted.
When I wrote "the bank" I meant, the bank in question, which is the one mentioned in the URL. Hope this makes it clearer for you. As for alternatives, yes there are, I'm still figuring which ones do not require an app on the smart-phone, though. I believe I've found a fair alternative after asking a few friends but, I have to account for other factors as well, like, how secure their infrastructure is. This is because…
Just use a strong password, then 2fa is redundant.
They mitigate the obvious security thread with mandatory 2fa (actually mandated by regulation). Some use this as an opportunity to push their apps: no separate 2fa method, but only integrated in their bloated app, that checks for rooted devices and only supports the newest OS.
It’s quite hard to find out in advance, what 2fa methods with which fees each bank actually requires. I remember that some of them had funny ideas, what a customer should be billed for 2fa SMS. I think it was 50 cents per SMS.