N26 Launch Savings Account Paying 1.30% to 2.50% less fees

I too have opened an N26 Savings account. I have been a customer of theirs for a few years with only a small sum with them- until now.

Has anybody experienced any problems with them, I mean having their account " frozen" on flimsy grounds.

I find their customer service alot to be desired, they sometimes ignore or don't answer questions. I don't know if it's the language barrier. It also is a protracted chat.

For some reason I always felt safer with N26 than Revolut perhaps because its German although I have been in Berlin a few times and found shopkeepers etc quite unpleasant and got the impression Germany isn't customer focused.

I have some of my savings with N26 and hope they are safe.
 
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Pmc365 said:
I too have opened an N26 Savings account. I have been a customer of theirs for a few years with only a small sum with them- until now.

Has anybody experienced any problems with them, I mean having their account " frozen" on flimsy grounds.

I find their customer service alot to be desired, they sometimes ignore or don't answer questions. I don't know if it's the language barrier. It also is a protracted chat.

For some reason I always felt safer with N26 than Revolut perhaps because its German although I have been in Berlin a few times and found shopkeepers etc quite unpleasant and got the impression Germany isn't customer focused.

I have some of my savings with N26 and hope they are safe.
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I get salary into N26, and pay direct debits from account. No problems so far.
I do tend to spend a lot of time looking for the debit card ...
...it is 'see through' and can be in front of me in the car and on black kitchen counter and I just cannot see it.
 
Pmc365 said:
Has anybody experienced any problems with them, I mean having their account " frozen" on flimsy grounds.
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I am a long time user (three years) though like you the volume wasn't huge - I mainly used the debit card when in the US as there were no charges, the exchange rates are unbeaten and I get instant notification of all transactions showing the € equivalent.
I have now switched to Metal (for the higher interest rate, the rest of the goodies are rubbish) and transferred a substantial sum to my new 4% savings a/c. Regarding security and access to my funds I think there are two issues:

Capital Security: N26 is a Bank and a member of the German DGS. Deposits are said to be covered to €100,000. This says to me that my capital is secure (up to €100,000). So I'm happy enough with that.

Accessibility: N26 had a lot of issues a couple of years back. The German Regulator stopped them opening new accounts for an extended period until they got their house in order. There was a chaotic period where they appeared to block transactions/accounts almost on a whim; it felt like they were trying to do AML without proper procedures, training etc. This appears to have calmed down as these reports are a lot less frequent. But the issue remains that there overseas "Neo-banks", "fintechs" or whatever you want to call them with variable quality arms length communications channels (Chatbots, e-mail support, two-day turnarounds, cut and paste responses, etc) are a concern. Sometimes you get your issue resolved quickly, sometimes not.
The way I look at it, I'm fine with them as far as capital security is concerned, so I have no problem whatsoever depositing money with them. But because of the potential service issues, I would build in slack in terms of my timelines for withdrawal, and I would be reluctant to rely on them exclusively for day to day transactions without having an immediate backup in place.
 
ACER10 said:
I think the instant savings is the way to go for now. Every day you earn interest and it arrives into your account on the first day of the month. It is also super easy and INSTANT to move money between the Savings Space and Main Account. Remember, to look for tab FINANCES for the savings space.
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Yes seems to be the only option. I'll be sad to not use the sub accounts as much as I loved seeing how much I had put by for each thing. Maybe they'll add it as a feature in the future thanks for your reply
 
Freelance said:
But the issue remains that there overseas "Neo-banks", "fintechs" or whatever you want to call them with variable quality arms length communications channels (Chatbots, e-mail support, two-day turnarounds, cut and paste responses, etc) are a concern. Sometimes you get your issue resolved quickly, sometimes not.
The way I look at it, I'm fine with them as far as capital security is concerned, so I have no problem whatsoever depositing money with them. But because of the potential service issues, I would build in slack in terms of my timelines for withdrawal, and I would be reluctant to rely on them exclusively for day to day transactions without having an immediate backup in place.
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With the Metal account, you also get phone support - no idea of the quality of it though.
 
euroDilbert said:
With the Metal account, you also get phone support - no idea of the quality of it though.
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I had a premium account with N26, called N26 You, about two years ago. It was ordinarily a fee - charging ( but I got it free on an offer) account which was supposed to have a phone number you could call as part of the service. Whenever I rang the number you couldn't get through to anybody, it simply didn't connect so it was a joke in that respect. I'm not sure if things have changed.
 
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euroDilbert said:
With the Metal account, you also get phone support - no idea of the quality of it though.
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Just recently upgraded to metal and have had occasion to ring them twice and was through to an agent in less than 2 mins, excellent English and good problem solving- ATM issue on both occasions not their problem.
 
For the security conscious, there is a setting on the Instant Savings account that allow you to block transfers to the Main account or other Spaces. If you enable it, funds cannot be transferred anywhere else.

To enable transfers again you need your PIN.
 
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Looking at switching from my PTSB a/c (72 annual fee) to N26. Only reason is to minimise charges and better rates.

So would N26 provide free banking re: DD, worldwide or Euro ATM withdrawals and easy set up direct salary deposit.

Are there any pitfalls i might encounter considering I've had no issues with PTSB bar new charges.
 
Gunther said:
Looking at switching from my PTSB a/c (72 annual fee) to N26. Only reason is to minimise charges and better rates.

So would N26 provide free banking re: DD, worldwide or Euro ATM withdrawals and easy set up direct salary deposit.

Are there any pitfalls i might encounter considering I've had no issues with PTSB bar new charges.
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No .. it is very good. I just closed PTSB currant account. You have to go into the branch to do that. I have had no problem getting salary (Dept of Education), paying electricity, mobile etc. I pay cash rent of €700 with other cash charges (bins etc) a month, but the good thing with N26, is you can withdrawn €1000 in one go. You can only do 3 free ATM withdrawals.
The interest arrived into my account on April 1st. It is super instant to move money from spaces to main account etc..
 
Páid said:
For the security conscious, there is a setting on the Instant Savings account that allow you to block transfers to the Main account or other Spaces. If you enable it, funds cannot be transferred anywhere else.

To enable transfers again you need your PIN.
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Thanks for letting me know about this. I have switched it on so money in my savings a/c can't be transferred to my main a/c which uses my debit card. Its reassuring knowing this.
 
Hi there is a reference in their fees/price list to a 0.5% annual deposit fee ? Does anyone have more information on how this is applied
 
I note the deposit guarantee covers up to 100k. Would anybody be comfortable investing more that that in this account? I guess when you are dealing with large sums of money, its not guaranteed anywhere, anyway
 
I'm interested in upgrading to metal and paying annual membership upfront to get a 20% discount. I then hope to get 4% on my savings.
I was worried that they might reduce the 4% mid way through the year and I'd be at a loss but apparently they will give a pro rata refund of the metal membership fee if you want to cancel membership during the year.
So you will be paying tax at 33% on interest and possibly PRSI at 4% yet this costing you €162 metal membership fee which I presume can't be written off against that tax.
 
settlement said:
I note the deposit guarantee covers up to 100k. Would anybody be comfortable investing more that that in this account? I guess when you are dealing with large sums of money, its not guaranteed anywhere, anyway
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I personally wouldn't take the risk of placing more than €100,000 with any financial institution if I had those type of funds. Don't place all your eggs in the one basket. I wonder would N26 be more likely than a bricks and mortar bank to " freeze" anybodys money pending enquiries from them as to source of funds.
On a separate matter I have a chargeback pending with N26 as a customer for €60. I wonder if I upgraded to Metal would they be more inclined to award me the chargeback or is this decided by Mastercard.
 
I have been with N26 as my main current account ever since KBC pulled out of the Irish market. No issues with them so far, I just wish their 'spaces' feature was available on their free basic account like how Revolut offer 'vaults' on their free account.
 
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