N26 for non-EU and non-US residents?

Finances
1

Hey guys, I’m looking for digital nomad friendly bank that is available for none-US and none-EU residents/passport holders.

Does something like that exist?

2

Most of the innovation seems to be happening in the EU/US/Australia at the moment, but you might still be able to open an account with some of the players there—even without officially moving there. For many it is sufficient (in practice) to only have an address available to you there. That includes N26, at least if you have a supported passport, Monese, Monzo, etc. An address might mean a friend or an Airbnb or in some cases a mail forwarding company.

There are of course some options that are available more broadly, including LeoPay, but they are generally a bit more expensive than N26 etc. If you can get a bank statement from a current bank listing a EU/EEA address, you could also qualify for a TransferWise Borderless account with a Debit card.

3

Thanks Thomas. I’m holding an Israeli Passport but I don’t see it in your post in sectios 2.1 and 2.2 but I do see on section 2.2.2.

Can you help me verify if I can while holding a passport from Israel?

Moving to Germany for a few weeks is not a problem if necessary.

5

Small update on N26: opening account with them had failed.
I am not sure what they had not liked - my mailing account in UK, current physical presence in Gabon with associated tax accounting here, my permanent residency in Cyprus, or my Russian passport. LoL
After about a week of photographing at different angles of my documents, they finally informed me this morning that they regret to decline my account opening.

7

The issue here seems to be your residency in Cyprus. If you’re resident in Cyprus or Malta or a non-EEA country they simply won’t open an account for you.

8

Then why does their list of supported countries include way more countries than those of EEA?

9

You can be national to all of those countries, but have to pay taxes in any country of the short list. Is that right?

10

My attempt to open a Euro account with N26 failed although I had a supported passport so I’m trying to see what the alternatives would be for a Mexican passport holder, currently in the EU (but no longer a resident) on her way to Africa.

I could provide:

  1. my parents address in Mexico

  2. a friend’s address in France, Germany or Spain

  3. I actually have a bank account in the UK and receive statements

Any advice to try to get the TransferWise Borderless opened? or should I be looking into other platforms? It must have an IBAN.

Thanks!