N26 Review: Is It The Best Online Bank In Europe?

N26 Review

N26 is one of the upcoming and most well-known online banks as of the current moment in Europe. It’s especially famous for offering 4 versatile plans, a great mobile application, good customer support and lenient fees designed for foreign spending. 

N26 is available in: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US.

Here’s a deeper look into N26’s performance.

#1 Domestic Fees

Most customers using N26 domestically won’t face any fees at all. It offers a reasonable number of free withdrawals per month depending on the plan you’re using, which can range from 3 to 8 free withdrawals per month. Once that limit has been exceeded, a €2 fee will apply for each withdrawal, independent of the amount withdrawn.

N26 also doesn’t charge any fees for your first card when you open your account. Also, there isn’t a delivery fee for your first card or any other card beyond that, though there are replacement fees of €10 for regular cards and €45 for metal cards.

N26 Domestic Fees Score: 9/10

#2 International Fees

N26 has a clear focus on providing great deals when it comes to its national and international use. This is exemplified by its performance in this category,  because it doesn’t charge fees for most transactions abroad. The only case where this applies is for users with a N26 standard account, where a 1.7% fee will apply on foreign ATMs withdrawals.

Aside from that, there are no other fees for using your bank account or your card while you’re abroad or making foreign purchases, not even fees for international money transfers or weekend transactions in foreign currencies.

N26 International Fees Score: 8/10

#3 Everyday Usage

With N26 you get access to features like Apple Pay and Google Pay as a means of payment, which makes the use of the bank, as seamless as possible.

You can also deposit cash directly into your N26 account, though there is a 1.5% fee and a €999 limit per day.

The N26 mobile app also offers features like categorizing transactions and real-time spending notifications, which makes everyday usage easier to track and keep in control.

N26 Everyday Usage Score: 9/10

#4 Interface & Usability

N26 recognizes that a mobile banking experience needs to be as seamless as possible, which is why its signup process doesn’t even take 10 minutes to complete.

Also, as we had alluded to earlier, N26 boasts a highly intuitive and well-designed mobile app for everyday use. The app is known to be one of the best among the online banks, with a 4.8/5 score on the App Store and 4.6/5 on the Google Play Store.

N26 also provides a well-developed web version of its banking platform in case you want to take a look at your finances on a bigger screen, which not every bank offers.

N26 Interface & Usability Score: 10/10

#5 Mobile App Functionality

N26 embraces the fact that a mobile banking experience needs to be convenient and powerful, which is why it offers the following features all from the app:

• Online payment toggling
• Foreign payment toggling
• ATM withdrawal toggling
• Setting spending limits
• Setting withdrawal limits

Aside from that, N26 also features sub-saving accounts for personal and group uses, which facilitates the use of online banking with family, partners and others.

However, the free N26 plan only has access to 2 sub-accounts, while the paid plans all have access to 10 sub-accounts, and group saving accounts are not available for the free plan.

N26 also doesn’t have a built-in bill splitting feature for easy money transfers nor easy online subscription blocking.

N26 Mobile App Functionality Score: 8/10

#6 Customer Support

N26 supports its customer in a few interesting ways by offering 24/7 in-app live-chat support and email support in 5 languages. The best part about this is that both channels are pretty responsive, and your waiting time will only last from a couple of minutes in live chat to a single business day with email.

However, phone support is only available on paid plans, with priority phone support available only for N26 Metal users.

N26 Customer Support Score: 8/10

#7 Security & Regulation

N26 is regulated by the German Deposit Protection Scheme, which protects customers for up to €100,000 if the bank ever becomes insolvent. This also means that N26 has a legitimate banking license, which puts it up to par with already established banks.

When it comes to in-app security features, users can freeze and unfreeze their cards and change their ATM pins. The app also has biometric login features, which makes using N26 even more secure. However, N26 does not offer disposable virtual cards for better online spending protection.

N26 Security & Regulation Score: 10/10

#8 Travel Insurance

One of N26’s biggest features is its travel insurance, or rather the entire insurance package it offers. Here are the main types of insurance you’ll find with N26 and the specific amounts users are protected for:

• Travel medical insurance: Up to €1,000,000 for emergency medical insurance for the user, plus their partner and kids
• Baggage delay insurance: Up to €500 for baggage delays of over 12 hours and €2,000 if it goes missing
• Flight delay insurance: Up to €500 for flight delays over 4 hours of waiting time
• Trip cancellation/curtailment insurance: Up to €10,000
• Rental car Insurance: Up to €20,000 coverage nationally or internationally

It’s worth noting that all of these plans apply only for N26 You and N26 Metal users, N26’s two most premium plans.

N26 Travel Insurance Score: 10/10

#9 Insurance & Purchase Coverage

N26 offers an array of protections that range from extended warranty and purchase protection and cash protection on ATM withdrawals against robbery.

In terms of physical insurances, both N26 You and N26 Metal offer, bike, scooter and car-sharing insurance (up to €20,000 in damages), and snow and mountain winter sports insurances. N26 Metal also offers mobile phone insurance (up to €1,000 for mobile phone theft and damage).

N26 Insurance & Purchase Coverage Score: 10/10

#10 Rewards & Bonuses

Not only does N26 provide a solid service, but it also rewards its users with premium bonuses like these for using its products:

• Metal card for N26 Metal users
• Cashback on certain partner stores (Headspace, Blinkist, Curology, etc)
• Discounts on partner stores (Adidas, Dropbox, Hotels.com, etc)
• Up to 1.38% interest paid on your account balance with N26 Savings.

However, it’s worth noting that N26 does not provide airport lounge benefits.

N26 Rewards & Bonuses Score: 10/10

Why N26?

At the end of the day, most online banks in Europe are great options if you want a regular spending account or just somewhere to keep your money. However, according to our findings, N26 is overall the best option if it's available in your country. Here's why:

N26 is the best online bank in terms of a regular banking experience, both domestically and internationally. You get access to a multitude of plans, great domestic and foreign fees, and possibly the most complete insurance package that an online bank offers. All with premium rewards, annual interest, cashback and discounts with no extra charges included.