N26

eskbanker

rare wrote: »

I applied on the 15th and got the card on the 22nd, however they sent me two sealed envelopes (in a bigger envelope) - one with my card, one with the card of another person, completely different address. I put postage on the 2nd envelope and send it to that person, but this makes me wonder about account security with n26. Perhaps a beta launch wasn't their greatest idea...

A beta launch is a better idea than a full-scale launch, so that wrinkles can be ironed out in a more controlled manner first - did you tell them about receiving two cards, so that they can do something about it for the future?

eDicky

rare wrote: »

I applied on the 15th and got the card on the 22nd, however they sent me two sealed envelopes (in a bigger envelope) - one with my card, one with the card of another person, completely different address. I put postage on the 2nd envelope and send it to that person, but this makes me wonder about account security with n26. Perhaps a beta launch wasn't their greatest idea...

That's a pretty outrageous blunder. Do you know if it was mailed from within UK or elsewhere?

I received my invite but will probably give it a miss after hearing that. I originally signed up to wait in hope for an N26 euro account, but for a GBP fintech account I have Monzo and Starling already.

JuicyJesus

rare wrote: »

I applied on the 15th and got the card on the 22nd, however they sent me two sealed envelopes (in a bigger envelope) - one with my card, one with the card of another person, completely different address. I put postage on the 2nd envelope and send it to that person, but this makes me wonder about account security with n26. Perhaps a beta launch wasn't their greatest idea...

In fairness to N26, I've heard of this happening with legacy banks as well. Posting out lots of cards with 100% accuracy isn't easy!

JuicyJesus

rare wrote: »

It looks like they're using AI / bots for customer support, so I now have to email them back... otherwise I doubt I will receive another response from a real person.

I really despise the trend of using "bots" and pretending they're real people. NatWest's "chat" in their app does the same thing - you send a "message" but what it actually does is send your message to a bot that comes back and asks you to phrase your query as a few short words, and if you want your message to be looked at by a real person you have to spell that fact out. It makes what could be a nice thing totally pointless.

It's still a distant second from my hatred of the trend for phone IVRs you have to speak to rather than push buttons, but that's by the by...

scottishbank

Is it just GBP account available for UK customers or can you open Euro account too?

redux

scottishbank wrote: »

Is it just GBP account available for UK customers or can you open Euro account too?

I'd be interested in that question too, as it's the main reason looked at this bank, but the fact it's either hard or impossible to find anything like that hints to me the answer is probably no.

redux

scottishbank wrote: »

Is it just GBP account available for UK customers or can you open Euro account too?

I was waiting in their online chat as I wrote my previous reply above.

After about 15 minutes someone arrived, who said a Euro account is not currently available to UK customers, but it is under consideration.

I asked for any prediction. None.

I said please convey to your marketing team I'm more interested in your Euro account than one in Pounds.

scottishbank

redux wrote: »

I was waiting in their online chat as I wrote my previous reply above.

After about 15 minutes someone arrived, who said a Euro account is not currently available to UK customers, but it is under consideration.

I asked for any prediction. None.

I said please convey to your marketing team I'm more interested in your Euro account than one in Pounds.

I was hoping for different answer. Thank you for checking with them.

londoninvestor

teamwork wrote: »

PROS:
1) It's part of UniCredit which is the largest bank in Italy. They have been shoring up their cash buffers in case of financial difficulties that might hit the Italian economy so currently their common equity tier 1 ratio (a measure of stability) is 12.11% and the minimum standard is 4.5% (see this link for a definition of CET1 https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/common-equity-tier-1-cet1.asp).
They are also members of the FSCS compensation scheme so the first £85k is protected.

Could you explain how, please?

The FCA/PRA register lists FinecoBank SPA as an EEA authorised firm, and its products as "Services (UK) of an Overseas Firm".

So the ordinary position is that:

FCA wrote:

If a firm is authorised in another EEA state, generally you will be covered by the compensation scheme of that country rather than the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). Under our rules, incoming EEA firms are able to obtain top-up cover which may provide FSCS protection for their customers.

The list of firms receiving top-up cover doesn't include Fineco. (And in any case, that "top-up" concept is a bit obsolescent as the EU has standardised protection amounts across countries.)

So from what I can find it looks like deposit protection relies on the Italian scheme and not the FSCS... can you point me to any evidence that it's otherwise?

teamwork

I remember reading on another discussion forum that they were FCA regulated before I opened the account, so I never checked the facts myself. So on checking their website small print and terms of business I see that I got those facts wrong. The terms of business state: Fineco Bank is a trademark
licensed for use by FinecoBank S.p.A. Authorised by the Bank of Italy and subject to limited regulation by the Financial
Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority. Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial
Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request.