4 ms·

A sample of 3 people is not representative of all the customers. This article is pushing for sensationalism. Switching bank accounts in the UK is dead easy. Op

A sample of 3 people is not representative of all the customers. This article is pushing for sensationalism. Switching bank accounts in the UK is dead easy. Open the new bank account, give them your old bank account reference and they do all of the switching for you, port over the scheduled and direct debit payments. N26 is not competitive in the UK compared to Monzo, Starling and Revolut. Just pick one and you're good to go.

kmlx 7y ago
for sure. but the way N26 framed it is extremely amateurish. and i'm being generous. "we are writing to share the news that we will be leaving the UK and closing all accounts." this is what you write when you've gone out of business, not when you re-focus on the US for example. own your failure, explain what you did wrong and move on. especially when you've basically told everyone a year ago that everything's going great.
- zhte415 7y ago
  I disagree. I've seen forced account closure, and it's ugly. They're giving 2 months notice, which is far better from what I've experienced. Let me explain that: Get a picture taken on a Blackberry of a DHL package with containing notice of account closure notice, when it was going through the counter for delivery, before delivery, as proof sent to the head office of the company. And bang! Accounts, thousands of regular/netting/sweeping accounts for a reasonably large company, are instantly closed around the world while the CFO of the customer is sleeping. The money's not gone, it's Nostro'd, but the liquidity is. A desperate call from the relationship manager of a client that woke up, realised they didn't check their emails for a couple of months while this was in the planning, and found their client has a serious business problem. You're talking of paying employees, suppliers, rent, of staying in business. Forced account closure is never nice, it is brutal. One of the reasons I left banking, well, that company, I do have strong faith in how banks and a well run, ethical financial system can facilitate our lives. Two months notice, whatever the reasons, Brexit, or not, is pretty OK. N26 were also one of the few challenger banks that actually had a website aside from a phone app, a bit sorry to see that leave.
djmobley 7y ago
There are other implications to switching banks, e.g. credit reference agencies will often deduct points if you frequently switch current accounts and/or don’t have at least one long-standing account. Also worth noting many of the challenger banks do not yet report to any/all of the three main credit reference agencies.
- loriverkutya 7y ago
  Monzo and starling does, Revolut does not have a bank license in the UK.
  - djmobley 7y ago
    Monzo report to TransUnion and Experian (as of last month), but not Equifax. Starling report to Equifax and TransUnion, but not Experian. I don’t believe Revolut report to anyone.
rusk 7y ago
> Switching bank accounts in the UK is dead easy. And yet I've heard brits will more readily divorce, than change their bank account. Apologies if this is just an unsubstantiated urban myth.

kmlx 7y ago

for sure. but the way N26 framed it is extremely amateurish. and i'm being generous. "we are writing to share the news that we will be leaving the UK and closing all accounts." this is what you write when you've gone out of business, not when you re-focus on the US for example. own your failure, explain what you did wrong and move on. especially when you've basically told everyone a year ago that everything's going great.

zhte415 7y ago
I disagree. I've seen forced account closure, and it's ugly. They're giving 2 months notice, which is far better from what I've experienced. Let me explain that: Get a picture taken on a Blackberry of a DHL package with containing notice of account closure notice, when it was going through the counter for delivery, before delivery, as proof sent to the head office of the company. And bang! Accounts, thousands of regular/netting/sweeping accounts for a reasonably large company, are instantly closed around the world while the CFO of the customer is sleeping. The money's not gone, it's Nostro'd, but the liquidity is. A desperate call from the relationship manager of a client that woke up, realised they didn't check their emails for a couple of months while this was in the planning, and found their client has a serious business problem. You're talking of paying employees, suppliers, rent, of staying in business. Forced account closure is never nice, it is brutal. One of the reasons I left banking, well, that company, I do have strong faith in how banks and a well run, ethical financial system can facilitate our lives. Two months notice, whatever the reasons, Brexit, or not, is pretty OK. N26 were also one of the few challenger banks that actually had a website aside from a phone app, a bit sorry to see that leave.

djmobley 7y ago

There are other implications to switching banks, e.g. credit reference agencies will often deduct points if you frequently switch current accounts and/or don’t have at least one long-standing account. Also worth noting many of the challenger banks do not yet report to any/all of the three main credit reference agencies.

loriverkutya 7y ago
Monzo and starling does, Revolut does not have a bank license in the UK.
- djmobley 7y ago
  Monzo report to TransUnion and Experian (as of last month), but not Equifax. Starling report to Equifax and TransUnion, but not Experian. I don’t believe Revolut report to anyone.

rusk 7y ago

> Switching bank accounts in the UK is dead easy. And yet I've heard brits will more readily divorce, than change their bank account. Apologies if this is just an unsubstantiated urban myth.