INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Nearly a year after German fintech startup N26 announced that it would launch its service in the U.K., the company is launching in the U.K
N26 is already quite popular in the Eurozone, with more than 1.5 million customers
In this new market, it will face tough competition from existing players, such as Revolut, Monzo, Starling and many others.N26 is going to
roll out its product in multiple phases
Some lucky few will be able to open an account right away
The startup will then go through its waiting list — 50,000 people already left their email addresses to express interest
After that, anybody will be able to download the app and sign up.This might sound like a convoluted process, but N26 expects a full public
launch in just a few weeks
So it should be quite quick if everything goes as planned.So what can you expect exactly British customers will get all the basic N26 stuff
with one killer feature — U.K
account numbers and sort codes
This way, customers will be able to receive payments and share banking information with their utility providers just like they would with a
regular Barclays or Lloyds account.When you open an N26 account, you get a true bank account and a MasterCard
Basic accounts are free, and N26 has a proper banking license — your deposits up to €100,000 are guaranteed by the European deposit
You can then send and receive money and pay with your card
Sending money to other N26 users is instantaneous (they call it MoneyBeam).N26 recently launched Spaces, a new feature that lets you create
sub accounts and put some money aside
It still limited, but the company plans to add more features.Your MasterCard works like any other challenger bank
Every time you use it, you receive a push notification
You can set payment and withdrawal limits, lock your card if you lose it and reset your PIN code
N26 will also bring Black and Metal plans to the U.K.How does it compare to RevolutLet be honest, the elephant in the room is Revolut
The company has hundreds of thousands (if not over a million) customers in the U.K
N26 lets you do many of the things you can already do with your Revolut account.So let me point out a few differences
As I noted, N26 has a banking license and U.K
N26 cards work in Apple Pay and Google Pay.When it comes to international payments, N26 lets you pay with your card anywhere in the world
without any additional fee
The company uses MasterCard conversion rates
Revolut first converts the money with its forex feature and then lets you spend your money.There are an infinite number of forum posts about
the exchange rates you&ll get
Sometimes Revolut is cheaper, sometimes N26 is cheaper
It mostly depends on the day of the week (Revolut conversion rates are more expensive on the weekend) and the currency
Unless you plan to spend tens of thousands of GBP during your vacation, you won&t see a huge difference on your bank statement.Revolut also
has many more features than N26
You can insure your phone, buy bitcoins, buy travel insurance, create virtual cards and more
It clear that N26 and Revolut have two different styles.Revolut has a bigger user base than N26
But it always been a bit hard to compare them, as N26 wasn&t available in the U.K
Of course, they will both say there are tens of millions of people relying on old banks — multiple challenger banks can grow at the same
time if they capture market share from those aging players
Still, the battle between N26 and Revolut is on.
