N26
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I have used them for a few years and they are very good. Support google pay, very good app and website. Instant money transfer to other N26 accounts. I dont withdraw much cash so the limits on withdrawals are not an issue for me. I think they have made some changes with negative interest rates on new accounts with over 50K balance. I keep a credit union account for any cheque I may need to cash.
N26 is now my main account for over a year, i closed a few Irish bank accounts but i did keep one Irish Bank Account which although seldom gets used, has proven handy to have.
Here are a few items, i could not use N26 for:
Getting Paid
Employer- and this is a large US organisation, does not accept non Irish Bank accounts for payroll, allthough this is getting to be more unusual.
Bord Gais Bills
They do not accept non Irish bank accounts, i was with another utility provider before them, and no issue, so it depends on supplier. All other monthly bills work fine on N26.
Very occasional cheques:
Its rare, but have received a few cheques in last 18 months, and needed somewhere to lodge, so N26 is no good for that, examples were a house insurance claim, a refund from VHI, an post savings cert matured, and a refund from a utility provider.
The basic N26 free account is fine for me, don’t withdraw much cash, and N26 has a much higher monthly cash limit than Revolut which is very restrictive in this regard, which catches a lot of people.
Also have Revolut, as its one huge unique feature of instant payments is very handy. And used Revolut, to purchase currency a few times, which is particularly handy, you buy say Sterling, in advance, and goes into your Sterling Revolut wallet- at a really great rate, and then withdraw it while in the UK, from a non charging ATM.
Very happy overall with N26, any minor issues i had, were dealt with swiftly by support, which i found to be much better than Revolut support.
Here are a few items, i could not use N26 for:
Getting Paid
Employer- and this is a large US organisation, does not accept non Irish Bank accounts for payroll, allthough this is getting to be more unusual.
Bord Gais Bills
They do not accept non Irish bank accounts, i was with another utility provider before them, and no issue, so it depends on supplier. All other monthly bills work fine on N26.
Very occasional cheques:
Its rare, but have received a few cheques in last 18 months, and needed somewhere to lodge, so N26 is no good for that, examples were a house insurance claim, a refund from VHI, an post savings cert matured, and a refund from a utility provider.
The basic N26 free account is fine for me, don’t withdraw much cash, and N26 has a much higher monthly cash limit than Revolut which is very restrictive in this regard, which catches a lot of people.
Also have Revolut, as its one huge unique feature of instant payments is very handy. And used Revolut, to purchase currency a few times, which is particularly handy, you buy say Sterling, in advance, and goes into your Sterling Revolut wallet- at a really great rate, and then withdraw it while in the UK, from a non charging ATM.
Very happy overall with N26, any minor issues i had, were dealt with swiftly by support, which i found to be much better than Revolut support.
Thanks all, yeah I can't believe we have no Irish company doing digital banking yet, there must be a huge market for it, no one wants to pay for current accounts these days.
Thats interesting about the US org only paying to Irish banks, I will need to check that out myself so before pulling the trigger.
I am gonna miss KBC, the free banking(once you lodge 2500 per month), some interest on deposits and all the apple, google, garmin, fitbit payments thrown in, there is no bank in Ireland close to this.
Thats interesting about the US org only paying to Irish banks, I will need to check that out myself so before pulling the trigger.
I am gonna miss KBC, the free banking(once you lodge 2500 per month), some interest on deposits and all the apple, google, garmin, fitbit payments thrown in, there is no bank in Ireland close to this.
Bear in mind that all of these digital banks or payment processors exist to make money and all charge in someway, whether overly by an open fee structure or covertly by poorer exchange rates and hidden fees. For example, the N26 debit card is a virtual card on your phone so your mobile phone becomes a Single Point of Failure and if you lose it/damage it or have it stolen then in effect, you are bankless until you get a new one (which you won't be able to pay for as you've no means of payment.!). If you want a physical card, N26 charge you €10. None of them provide phone support for free.
In other threads here (I think there's a Current Account Best Buy somewhere), one of the possibilities given is a combination of EBS (free but basic) and say N26, to get some of the best of both worlds. So, salary into EBS, with a standing order from there to N26?
As far as I'm aware that's illegal as it violates Single Market rules. You could try and anonymously report your employer.
Agree, its madness not to have a physical card in case of a phone loss/theft.
I have a basic account physical card, and the initial one off €10 is all i have ever paid. Both offer online support. I have not had any need to phone them.
Both N26 & Revolut have good value exchange rates, always better than amazon anyway. Appreciate they have to make money, but so far, its been much more cost effective than a fully functional account at an Irish Bank, and both of their apps, are better, and easier to use.
Yes, I have found N26 very good for tracking spending that fluctuates, great app and easy to make transfers. Never need more than 3 ATM withdrawals per month and love that there are no fees for Non-euro debit card purchases. In process of opening a free EBS current account for mortgage payment and as "just in case" backup account.
The Central Bank of Ireland calls this "IBAN discrimination". They have published a page on it here:
Explainer - What is 'IBAN discrimination' and what can I do about it?
If you have a euro payment account with a payment service provider,you will be provided with an International Bank Account Number or IBAN
The Central Bank of Ireland calls this "IBAN discrimination". They have published a page on it here:
Explainer - What is 'IBAN discrimination' and what can I do about it?
If you have a euro payment account with a payment service provider,you will be provided with an International Bank Account Number or IBANwww.centralbank.ie
The reality of this with a lot of larger companies consists of HR telling you to make a complaint but if you want to get paid, get an Irish IBAN as the pay systems isn't getting updated anytime soon. Everyone I know of has rolled over and gotten an Irish account, including people who have moved from foreign countries.
I don't understand how they get away with this given that they are knowingly violating the law and any grace period must long have expired.
You heard of these guys?
Who is the relevant competent authority for SEPA in Ireland?
In cases involving consumers and traders (such as a utility provider), the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is the competent authority.Ive heard of people with Revolut not being able to get payments from BoI online due to IBAN length for Lithuanian Accounts being less than Irish ones.
Not sure if this is a BoI issue or the person making the transfer, anyone else had an issue receiving transfers into Revolut/N26 account as assume its IBAN is a different length to Irish ones.
Not sure if this is a BoI issue or the person making the transfer, anyone else had an issue receiving transfers into Revolut/N26 account as assume its IBAN is a different length to Irish ones.
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But presumably they are aware of the fact that some Irish businesses are in breach of EU rules by not accepting payments to/from non-Irish financial institutions that are part of SEPA. Shouldn't they intervene proactively?
You missed my point...
Contacted CCPC - very helpful.
Overall, they said that companies cannot discriminate between Irish and EU member state banks.
1) Utility IBAN Issue
This falls within their remit, they asked me to correspond with the utility provider, and ask for the legal basis for not accepting non Irish banks for DD’s. If i correspond and don’t get a satisfactory responce, i can refer the case to them, for follow up. A case reference number was provided to me.
2) Employer IBAN issue
They confirmed this one falls ouside their scope as its not a consumer issue per say, and they said employee to employer issues are excluded from the legislation they work off. They suggested i contact The Workplace Relations Commission to make a complaint, which i did, was on hold for an age and hung up, i might try emailing them.
Overall, they said that companies cannot discriminate between Irish and EU member state banks.
1) Utility IBAN Issue
This falls within their remit, they asked me to correspond with the utility provider, and ask for the legal basis for not accepting non Irish banks for DD’s. If i correspond and don’t get a satisfactory responce, i can refer the case to them, for follow up. A case reference number was provided to me.
2) Employer IBAN issue
They confirmed this one falls ouside their scope as its not a consumer issue per say, and they said employee to employer issues are excluded from the legislation they work off. They suggested i contact The Workplace Relations Commission to make a complaint, which i did, was on hold for an age and hung up, i might try emailing them.