Denizen.io - new app based “bank” with no fees

eshroom

Came up in my Facebook feed and seems interesting for those that travel a lot or need a foreign currency (USD, EUR) account (currently USD only available to those with a US tax number and EUR only to those with a Eurozone tax number, you can apparently get both if you both tax numbers - but I have not tested this).

They currently have a $100 sign up bonus for new accounts (80 euro for EU citizens).

They offer a Mastercard Debt and offer interbank rates on all FX withdrawals.

They have a tie in with BBVA and do offer deposit protection to 100,000 euro in Europe (although this is through another, German, partner bank).

The thing that caught my eye was a line in their T&Cs that says *if [ATM] fees are charged by another bank, they will be refunded by Denizen*.



This is something I have not seen before, if they honour it this means free withdrawals in countries where all banks charge ATM fees on foreign cards (such as Thailand and other SE Asian countries).

They will apparently offer a GBP option soon. This would allow for interbank rate currency conversions.

An interesting quirk is that the account uses the previous days mid-market rate (as opposed to current rate) for conversion, so this would imply an opportunity for arbitrage - although there is a *fair use* clause.

Depositing money is to a German IBAN and Swift using Wirecard bank (same as the likes of Revolut and other fintech companies). Withdrawing money is currently only possible to linked accounts in the same currency (you can only link mainstream bank accounts - no challenger banks or Revolut etc.) - this is apparently a glitch and will be fixed soon.

I have received my card, deposited cash, transferred cash out, spent money on the card, all without issue save for the drawbacks already mentioned.

I will keep using the account now that I have it set up, but the experience is still too full of glitches and bugs to recommend. Their marketing also had me think this was a mullticurrency account, which it is not.

It has a lot of potential and I would recommend it if all the functionality promised was there and working, but for now, if you want a free EUR debit card, I would recommend Fineco's UK offering.

Zanderman

No mention of a sign up bonus on their website https://www.denizen.io

ETA But there is on this page
https://www.denizen.io/promotions/?nabe=6442962182733824:0

(though note that this looks like a US only offer.)

unforeseen

Currently only available to residents of USA, Spain & Germany

https://denizen.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002290689-Countries-where-Denizen-is-available

eshroom

Their customer services assured me it was offered to all EU members, so perhaps they need to update their FAQ.

Zanderman wrote: »

(though note that this looks like a US only offer.)

As they make reference to EU in their promotions page I assume it relates to USD deposits regardless of whether customers are EU or US based.

Note, as mentioned earlier, they do not currently offer GBP accounts only EUR and USD.

I have signed up so will update soon.

Edit: 30/04/18: At the moment the app experience is buggy and inconsistent. Their FAQ, customer services and marketing material all give conflicting information. It feels like they are pushing out the launch without being ready.

If you are thinking of joining, then do, just hold of using the account until they iron our the kinks. By joining now you ensure fee free access with a "founders" account. In the future there will be a monthly fee.

ormolu

I am tempted by the bonus, but also would quite like a fee-free US account with free withdrawals and transfers, as I still go several times a year but closed my Chase account when the fees stopped being worth it after I moved back to the UK and stopped getting paid in dollars.

But it seems to be the case that you need a pre-existing American account to sign up - that is, this wouldn’t be an app-based, fee-free alternative?

eshroom

Their marketing is quite jumbled and confusing. They will not give you a USD account unless you have a US tax number. At the moment they will not give you a EUR account unless you have a Eurozone tax number (any Eurozone country). They will be launching GBP soon.

All the benefits as regard free exchange rates etc. still apply, but this is not (currently at least) a multi currency account.

To this end, the app (on iPhone at least) is very restrictive and can currently only transfer money to linked accounts in EUR currency. You cannot transfer money to a GBP account or a third party account. I am assured this functionality will be added soon.

eshroom

As more and more banks abroad start charging foreign cards fees to access ATMs, I was delighted when Curve did actually refund all my withdrawal fees automatically!

This is the only card I know of that refunds ATM withdrawal fees (only works if you use an actual bank and not Euronet etc.)

The app still has a long way to go though.