N26 Review, 2019

N26 is a new breed of bank: so-called “digital banks” which are revolutionizing the banking industry. These banks are, quite literally, based online and don’t have a brick-and-mortar branch you can walk into.

With N26, you get all the features of a “traditional” bank. The difference? It’s modern, handy and lightweight. They’re still a pretty young bank (originally started in Berlin, 2013) by two experience finance and business experts from Vienna.

With a fully online business model, N26 has much lower operating costs and a very frugal organizational structure. It means bigger savings for the company and outstanding value for money for all customers. In addition, they have established partnerships with high-ranking financial companies (Clark, Allianz, TransferWise, Raisin, Auxmoney among others).

N26 Review – Key features

As a fully-licensed online bank based in Europe, customers can access accounts and features either through their mobile app or website. In addition, customers receive a free international debit Mastercard and free ATM withdrawals worldwide.

The full list of features is as follows:

• Payments can be made anywhere abroad: No need to worry about foreign transaction fees. Unlike a lot of other banks, you don’t have to tell N26 that you’re abroad. Foreign payments can simply be either enabled or disabled instantly from the app.
• No ATM withdrawal fees: All customers get at least five free ATM withdrawals (in euro) per month via their N26 Mastercard.
• Transfer money (for free) into 19 different currencies: Thanks to their partnership with TransferWise, international transfers can easily be done from the N26 app.
• Total control over your finances: Set your payment limits, lock or unlock your card (extremely useful if it gets lost!) and send money to anyone. Account holders also receive a notification every time they take out money/make a payment.
• Contactless payments: Including Google Pay. Just “tap” the card at a terminal and pay instantly. For online payments, it’s not even necessary to have your cards. Your phone saves all your payment details with a profile connected to your bank account.

Who is it available for?

N26 is pretty flexible but to use it you must have an address in one of the following countries:

• Germany
• Austria
• Spain
• Italy
• Belgium
• Estonia
• Finland
• Greece
• Ireland
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• The Netherlands
• Portugal
• Slovakia
• Slovenia

N26 is still growing as a bank – so watch this space!