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N26 all the way! Instant account update on purchases (I mean instant, I get a little ding on my phone before the tx has even gone thru at pos). No charges. Can

by rusk 8y ago

N26 all the way! Instant account update on purchases (I mean instant, I get a little ding on my phone before the tx has even gone thru at pos). No charges. Can use throughout Europe with no additional cost. No branches no bricks and mortar to subsidise. In case anyone is interested, the EU has been taking an active interest in disrupting banking monopolies. Check out PSD2! [1] [0] https://n26.com/en-eu/ https://n26.com/en-eu/ [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payment_Services_Directive#Revised_Directive_on_Payment_Services_(PSD2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payment_Services_Directive#Rev...

s_dev 8y ago
I use N26 as well. I have concerns about using UK mobile banking apps like Monzo, Revolut and Monese because Brexit and I trust the EU more than the UK regarding privacy. Theres the added advantage that because N26 are German all savings up to €100k are insured by the German government.
- rusk 8y ago
  > Monzo, Revolut and Monese I heard it said that these aren't actual "banks" per se ... whereas N26 is, and is regulated as such. Just another reason to feel a bit more secure. Though the additional services Revolut offer have piqued my interest. In particular crypto payments. The -ve with N26 is that they don't offer much beyond standard current a/c services. No loans or savings for instance, or overdraft, which is all totally fine for what I used it for. I'll fall back on the B&M bitches for the harder stuff.
  - hocuspocus 8y ago
    > No loans or savings for instance, or overdraft They offer all of these in Germany. Afaik extending credit lines is regulated differently across the EU and it might take time to scale it out. I don't understand why they don't offer savings and investments in more countries though, given they are only an intermediary.
  - SideburnsOfDoom 8y ago
    > Monzo, Revolut and Monese > I heard it said that these aren't actual "banks" per se IMHO, the test of an "actual bank" in the UK is if the service is regulated by the FCSA, and your money protected (up to £85K) by that. You can check here https://protected.fscs.org.uk/tools/check-your-money-is-protected/ https://protected.fscs.org.uk/tools/check-your-money-is-prot... But the tl;dr is: Monzo is a bank, Starling is a bank. But Revolut is not a bank. Monese is not a bank. N26 is not UK-based, so this test does not apply. But it does seem to be a bank by German standards: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N26_(bank)#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N26_(bank)#History "In July 2016 it rebranded as N26 Bank, having received its own banking license from BaFin." The parent comment indicates that N26 operates under a similar deposit guarantee: "because N26 are German all savings up to €100k are insured by the German government."
krn 8y ago
Nobody in his right mind should be using N26, if he cares about his account security. It's beyond my mind, how an online-first bank can be built by hiring dozens of software engineers, but not a single security expert, leaving hundreds of thousands of customers vulnerable to multiple attack vectors[1]. [1] https://media.ccc.de/v/33c3-7969-shut_up_and_take_my_money https://media.ccc.de/v/33c3-7969-shut_up_and_take_my_money
- rusk 8y ago
  gosh, 30 mins.. care to post a TLDR? I'm not too concerned by this to be honest. Since the last 10 years banking is regulated to such a painful degree that such concerns are minutiae. This isn't bitcoin or a stage coach hurtling through the wild west. The only way money is leaving my account is by way of my chip & pin card, which is no easier or difficult than any other, and subject to the same protections, or by wire transfer which is easily detected and reversed. Beyond that, it's the bank's problem, ergo their underwriters and if they weren't happy they wouldnt be underwriting. Even then, if the bank does go tits up my deposits are guaranteed. That said, of course there may be risks of bad actors within the bank itself, but even in that regard I'm at least as safe as I am with any other bank.
  - krn 8y ago
    TLDR: A German security researcher was able to take over any N26 account, even though that theoretically required having an access to customer's email address, phone number, and MasterCard ID. He was then able not only to transfer the money from the account, but also to take a credit on customer's behalf.
    - rusk 8y ago
      Thanks. As I said, both of these actions are both easily traceable and reversible. Some inconvenience to me certainly but I am covered, and the the thief is most probably in jail. This does affect N26's own risk-profile and they'd do well to address it as such it would affect their bottom line but as a customer I have little more to fear than I have with any other bank. I'd expect they have a lot of latitude to play with on the risk side though vs B&M banks because they don't have any actual physical exposure.

by rusk 8y ago

s_dev 8y ago

I use N26 as well. I have concerns about using UK mobile banking apps like Monzo, Revolut and Monese because Brexit and I trust the EU more than the UK regarding privacy. Theres the added advantage that because N26 are German all savings up to €100k are insured by the German government.

rusk 8y ago
> Monzo, Revolut and Monese I heard it said that these aren't actual "banks" per se ... whereas N26 is, and is regulated as such. Just another reason to feel a bit more secure. Though the additional services Revolut offer have piqued my interest. In particular crypto payments. The -ve with N26 is that they don't offer much beyond standard current a/c services. No loans or savings for instance, or overdraft, which is all totally fine for what I used it for. I'll fall back on the B&M bitches for the harder stuff.
- hocuspocus 8y ago
  > No loans or savings for instance, or overdraft They offer all of these in Germany. Afaik extending credit lines is regulated differently across the EU and it might take time to scale it out. I don't understand why they don't offer savings and investments in more countries though, given they are only an intermediary.
- SideburnsOfDoom 8y ago
  > Monzo, Revolut and Monese > I heard it said that these aren't actual "banks" per se IMHO, the test of an "actual bank" in the UK is if the service is regulated by the FCSA, and your money protected (up to £85K) by that. You can check here https://protected.fscs.org.uk/tools/check-your-money-is-protected/ https://protected.fscs.org.uk/tools/check-your-money-is-prot... But the tl;dr is: Monzo is a bank, Starling is a bank. But Revolut is not a bank. Monese is not a bank. N26 is not UK-based, so this test does not apply. But it does seem to be a bank by German standards: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N26_(bank)#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N26_(bank)#History "In July 2016 it rebranded as N26 Bank, having received its own banking license from BaFin." The parent comment indicates that N26 operates under a similar deposit guarantee: "because N26 are German all savings up to €100k are insured by the German government."

krn 8y ago

Nobody in his right mind should be using N26, if he cares about his account security. It's beyond my mind, how an online-first bank can be built by hiring dozens of software engineers, but not a single security expert, leaving hundreds of thousands of customers vulnerable to multiple attack vectors[1]. [1] https://media.ccc.de/v/33c3-7969-shut_up_and_take_my_money https://media.ccc.de/v/33c3-7969-shut_up_and_take_my_money

rusk 8y ago
gosh, 30 mins.. care to post a TLDR? I'm not too concerned by this to be honest. Since the last 10 years banking is regulated to such a painful degree that such concerns are minutiae. This isn't bitcoin or a stage coach hurtling through the wild west. The only way money is leaving my account is by way of my chip & pin card, which is no easier or difficult than any other, and subject to the same protections, or by wire transfer which is easily detected and reversed. Beyond that, it's the bank's problem, ergo their underwriters and if they weren't happy they wouldnt be underwriting. Even then, if the bank does go tits up my deposits are guaranteed. That said, of course there may be risks of bad actors within the bank itself, but even in that regard I'm at least as safe as I am with any other bank.
- krn 8y ago
  TLDR: A German security researcher was able to take over any N26 account, even though that theoretically required having an access to customer's email address, phone number, and MasterCard ID. He was then able not only to transfer the money from the account, but also to take a credit on customer's behalf.
  - rusk 8y ago
    Thanks. As I said, both of these actions are both easily traceable and reversible. Some inconvenience to me certainly but I am covered, and the the thief is most probably in jail. This does affect N26's own risk-profile and they'd do well to address it as such it would affect their bottom line but as a customer I have little more to fear than I have with any other bank. I'd expect they have a lot of latitude to play with on the risk side though vs B&M banks because they don't have any actual physical exposure.