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Maybe banks outside the US are terrible, but honestly in the US I find most "big banks" to be completely fine. JPM Chase, Amex, and Cap 1 started heavily invest

Maybe banks outside the US are terrible, but honestly in the US I find most "big banks" to be completely fine. JPM Chase, Amex, and Cap 1 started heavily investing in their digital units years ago and IMO it shows. Would not say the experience is perfect but I don't need perfect UX...I need reliability and stability. One reason I would never move my primary banking to a startup is customer service. There's absolutely no way that a startup is going to have 24/7 online/phone support like the big banks do.

tome 9y ago
How do you pay your friend $100? Can you do it direct to their account simply knowing their name and some numbers?
- dawhizkid 9y ago
  Venmo
- dangrossman 9y ago
  You just need an email address or phone number, and the money arrives in minutes. https://www.zellepay.com/participating-banks-and-credit-unions https://www.zellepay.com/participating-banks-and-credit-unio... Which is the US banks' answer to Venmo, Square Cash, PayPal, etc that have offered such a thing nearly worldwide for 20 years.
- mindslight 9y ago
  Yes, and even better, you can make your friend pay you $100 with only knowing their name and account number!
kuschku 9y ago
One major advantage of N26 is that they’re the only bank in Germany offering a free credit or debit card without conditions. All other banks require either > 30€/year fee for the card, or > X€/month income, or > X€/month spending. Even the Amazon credit card has a 60€/year fee. EDIT: Regarding the comments suggesting dozens of banks – they all have some conditions. You can’t open an account that only holds a balance for a few days per year, and is only ever used to pay e.g. Namecheap or the Google Play developer fee. Most people don’t want or need a CC in daily life, only to interact with shitty startups or US companies that assume everyone has a CC.
- germanier 9y ago
  Neither ING-DiBa nor Consorbank charge a fee for their current account with debit Visa nor does DKB for their current account with credit Visa. They also don't require income or spending. There are other free credit cards as well such as those offered by Barclaycard, Santander, or Advanzia.
  - kuschku 9y ago
    As discussed in the other subthread, I suggest you open an account with them, do not ever hold any balance on the account, and only transfer a few euros per year in and back out per CC. I bet they’ll either close your account, or, if you tell them ahead of time, never even allow you to open it in the first place.
    - germanier 9y ago
      My DKB account stayed unused for 4 years and they have made no attempt to close it (instead send a new credit card after mine was invalid). And why the heck would you tell them ahead of time? Of course they will consider that then.
- dawhizkid 9y ago
  Most banks in the US have a free tier, though the catch is usually that you need to deposit a certain amount each month through your job or keep an average balance above $X. I think Cap 1 is completely free with no minimum balance needed. Probably the best thing about US banks though is the insanely generous credit card bonuses...I've been churning credit cards for years and have taken many free flights including int'l first/biz and free hotel stays solely on bank credit card bonuses.
- stadeschuldt 9y ago
  This is not true. Comdirect and DKB are just two banks who offer free credit/debit cards.
  - kuschku 9y ago

tome 9y ago

How do you pay your friend $100? Can you do it direct to their account simply knowing their name and some numbers?

dawhizkid 9y ago
Venmo
dangrossman 9y ago
You just need an email address or phone number, and the money arrives in minutes. https://www.zellepay.com/participating-banks-and-credit-unions https://www.zellepay.com/participating-banks-and-credit-unio... Which is the US banks' answer to Venmo, Square Cash, PayPal, etc that have offered such a thing nearly worldwide for 20 years.
mindslight 9y ago
Yes, and even better, you can make your friend pay you $100 with only knowing their name and account number!

kuschku 9y ago

One major advantage of N26 is that they’re the only bank in Germany offering a free credit or debit card without conditions. All other banks require either > 30€/year fee for the card, or > X€/month income, or > X€/month spending. Even the Amazon credit card has a 60€/year fee. EDIT: Regarding the comments suggesting dozens of banks – they all have some conditions. You can’t open an account that only holds a balance for a few days per year, and is only ever used to pay e.g. Namecheap or the Google Play developer fee. Most people don’t want or need a CC in daily life, only to interact with shitty startups or US companies that assume everyone has a CC.

germanier 9y ago
Neither ING-DiBa nor Consorbank charge a fee for their current account with debit Visa nor does DKB for their current account with credit Visa. They also don't require income or spending. There are other free credit cards as well such as those offered by Barclaycard, Santander, or Advanzia.
- kuschku 9y ago
  As discussed in the other subthread, I suggest you open an account with them, do not ever hold any balance on the account, and only transfer a few euros per year in and back out per CC. I bet they’ll either close your account, or, if you tell them ahead of time, never even allow you to open it in the first place.
  - germanier 9y ago
    My DKB account stayed unused for 4 years and they have made no attempt to close it (instead send a new credit card after mine was invalid). And why the heck would you tell them ahead of time? Of course they will consider that then.
dawhizkid 9y ago
Most banks in the US have a free tier, though the catch is usually that you need to deposit a certain amount each month through your job or keep an average balance above $X. I think Cap 1 is completely free with no minimum balance needed. Probably the best thing about US banks though is the insanely generous credit card bonuses...I've been churning credit cards for years and have taken many free flights including int'l first/biz and free hotel stays solely on bank credit card bonuses.
stadeschuldt 9y ago
This is not true. Comdirect and DKB are just two banks who offer free credit/debit cards.
- kuschku 9y ago