Why I like bunq (pre-v3)
For those of you who have read my previous articles on my N26 experiences, it will come as no surprise that I switched my main bank account to bunq. As there is no straightforward switching service for German customers (bunq does offer one for Dutch customers), I spent the better part of a day setting up my bunq account.
When I say setting up, I mean creating nine different sub-accounts. The beauty of bunq is that each sub-account has it’s own IBAN, and I find this incredibly useful for budgeting. My monthly credit card bill…
I’ve been glued to all sorts of new outlets over the past month. As I write this, I am currently in Nicaragua waiting for our rescue flight provided by the German government. We have been here for almost a month, and with only 4 confirmed cases, no official social distancing, and confining ourselves to remote places, it’s surreal for us to hear from friends and family how things are unfolding in Europe and the US.
With the Covid-19 outbreak and our current situation, my daily intake of fintech news has taken a backseat. Over the past few weeks I have…
Today I received a message from N26 about changes to the fee structure.
Hello Folks,
Firstly, thank you to all the readers for your positive feedback and shares of my previous article. I’ve had another negative experience with N26 I wanted to share. I am sharing these not to dis-credit N26 or neo-banks, but so that banks of all shapes and sizes can be aware of the painpoints in customer experiences and look to bridge disconnects in the existing experiences.
As I mentioned in the previous article, I have shifted all of my spend from my N26 card to my Lufthansa Miles and More Credit Card (DKB). As part of this, I have…
2020: THE FALL OF THE NEO-BANK?
In 2017 I moved to Berlin and, in addition to the beautiful apartments, lively nightlife and cheap beer, I was incredibly excited to get my hands on an N26 bank account.
Back then, N26 was the epitome of the customer friendly mobile bank that put fear into traditional banks. Alas, my dear fintech friends, this is no longer the case. N26 has failed at keeping pace with customer experience, something at the heart of its USP. …
Over the past seven years, I have been reviewing hundreds (maybe even thousands at this point) of digital customer experiences within financial services. In this time I have witnessed an evolution in payments, PFM, servicing, investments, you name it.
However, in my opinion, the onboarding experience has seen the most significant, consistent improvements. Having recently applied for a bank card from Klarna, I feel as though the epitome of a beautiful onboarding experience has finally been achieved in the financial services industry.
This journey is so good that I had to share the details, and I hope this provides inspiration…
It’s mid-January and I am finally getting around to unpacking from my Christmas week in Romo, Denmark. The first time I went to Romo was August of 2017. It was beautiful. It reminded me of a Scandinavian version of Cape Cod.
The first hour of driving onto the island I noticed honesty boxes selling locally produced goods. The boxes were typically near a farm or house and on sale were potatoes, honey or jam and you could pick what you wanted and pay for the goods, via cash, by placing it in the box. Sustainability at it’s best! The next…
The woes of cross-border banking
In October 2017 I reverse Brexited. After nearly 8 years in London, I packed it all in and moved to Berlin. Berlin is one incredible city with plenty of space, great cafes and bars, and a vibrant startup scene. However, as a German city I was well aware of the daunting German bureaucracy (spoiler alert: it hasn’t actually been too bad!)
In addition to applying for a tax number, registering my address, setting up as a freelancer, I had to open up a bank account. The inner fintech nerd got the best of me, and…
Meaghan Johnson
Fintech Nerd. I enjoy sharing my banking experiences to help banks and startups create the best possible solutions for customers.
