N26 is the first bank account in Europe that has been specifically designed for smartphone users.
They offer banking, as it should be - easy and fast, without old interfaces or complication and with an interface and support in the language of your choice.
Customers receive a full-fledged Wirecard Bank bank account, MasterCard and a high-functioning app that provides intuitive banking either with your smartphone or your computer.
I use it myself and love it!
What customers can expect from Number26:
open your bank account via smartphone or computer in just 8 minutes via video-identification - the fastest way to open a bank account in Europe
withdraw money for free at any MasterCard ATM worldwide
keep track of your expenses with smart statistics and the possibility to categorize your payments via app
send money to your friends, easily via text messages or e-mail
real time push notifications on all transactions on your bank account
a bank account and a MasterCard for free
customized security settings (e.g. block and unblock your card with just one click)
Sue, normally, when you change accounts, the receiving bank should have a department that deals with the transfer or all direct debits apart from the credit and loans direct debits. Talk to the new bank and ask them.
Thanks
John More info
We’re just getting the trauma of moving house and transferring everything from Midi-Pyrennees to Aquitaine (Nouvelle-Aquitaine!). Took me six weeks of arguing with Orange to sort out my phone and Internet, still trying to sort my carte vitale (OH’s is done with no problem). I’ll work myself up to this one, maybe in the new year.
Look at the T & C , for France there is a fee for Mastercard . always check the small print
Why is there a fee for the standard Mastercard?
We’re pleased to offer our core N26 Bank account for free in all markets. It gets you all the mobile convenience we’re known for, and provides you the ability to add additional services like savings, investment, and credit as we introduce them in each market. Cards do cause a significantly higher cost in terms of printing, distribution, and ATM usage fees. That’s why we charge a reasonable monthly fee if you choose to add an optional Mastercard to your free N26 account.
Why is there a 1,7% fee for Mastercard ATM withdrawals in foreign currencies?
We incur a higher cost for these transactions. You can avoid this fee if you pay with your Mastercard at the merchant. Mastercard acceptance abroad is often much higher than in Germany and across Europe, so you might be surprised how often you can pay with your card when abroad. When you do need to withdraw cash abroad, our fee is very competitive compared to other German banks. Many banks charge a higher percentage or require a minimum balance in your account for the fee to be waved.
Another option for you: we wave this fee for N26 Black account users, so N26 Black may be a good option for you if you travel frequently and withdraw foreign currency more often.
Is this a good solution for AE/ME? I asked Credit Agricole today, what the charges were for. They said to protect my account…and cheques? But can they please off me an account for son with €20 credit. Thing is, I really like the bank. What I don’t like…it shuts down online banking over the weekend! Tonight I’ve been trying to set up PayPal and Go Cardless and CA no playing ball…til Monday? What the what?? I’m so used to immediate and online. This is almost prehistoric…
I think it’s every weekend. It’s happened more than once now that I’ll try and set something up but I can’t activate nor make any payments/transfers (like tiny verification PayPal payments) show up til the Monday.
Thank you James. I followed the link, was amazed at the ease at which I completed the application. The video call for confirmation of identity was as easy as walking into a branch, showing your I.D. and awaiting cards etc. However, they didn’t need to take your I.D. to a photocopier and I won’t need to return to the branch to collect my card. Hopefully, it will be delivered within two weeks. I’m so excited.
Hey Teresa, let me know how you get on with N26. I am very interested, but read a lot of negative reviews, mostly about complete lack of customer service and problems with the card being accepted. I have just moved here, and am stuck in the loop of needing a permanent address and payslips to open a bank account and needing a bank account to obtain a permanent address and payslips, so N26 is a seriously interesting option, if only to get started out.
I’ve had mine for years, all is well, you can’t physically pay cheques or cash in and there is no cheque book but service is great and the app is slick. I have another account for the other stuff but it’s French so they dictate how much of my money I can spend every month.
I really do not understand this claim which I’ve seen several times on various forums. In over 20 years with my French bank I’ve never had a payment stopped because I’ve done too much shopping. If the money is in my account it is mine to spend. Actually that’s not true, I do believe I’m meant to inform them if I’m going to make a payment of over €35,000 but I don’t find that unreasonable. Last year they did email me to ask about about €17,000 that came into and left my account within a couple of days so I replied with the photo of the car I’d bought and their response was, ‘enjoy’. Personally I have to contrast this service with Barclays who bounced a cheque that I had written out for my sister because they didn’t like the fact that I’d used two different coloured pens on it. In that case there was a paper trail to follow, a couple of days before I had transferred exactly the same amount from my Barclays saving account to my Barclays current account and they even have my sister’s home address as an alternative address for me. To make matters worse they did not contact me to ask if the cheque was genuine, we found out when my sisters bank contacted her about her overdrawn account adding quite significant charges at the same time. My sister did not bank with Barclays but her branch of HSBC is literally a stones throw away in the main street of the very small rural town where we both grew up and where she has lived all her life.
Give me my French bank any day.
‘Getting started’ was my whole thinking with the N26. I’m returning to our home in France Friday night and hopefully, my card etc. will be waiting. So over the next few weeks I’ll be putting it into operation! I’ll let you know how it goes.
