The World’s Best Bank Accounts for International Travelers and Nomads

Please don’t remove Schwab on this list. They deserve to be on any travel-related or nomad list.

Who requires you to use their app?

Yes. You can delete the app from your phone. And you can avoid using the card in your own country. But that together makes the account almost useless.

Yes. You can delete the app from your phone. And continue using the card in your own country. Or in internet.

I don’t know where you are from. But if you only use it in India or whatever this can be a sign that something is wrong.

It is not so difficult for them to block your account and ask for a proof of address in 1 of their “supported” countries.

You don’t have to know whence I am.

Don’t use only it in India. And don’t use it only in India.

they’ve already verified your address when you were appling for the card.

They didn’t.

They used an address given to them to send the credit card. Which could be a hotel address, an address of a friend etc. They didn’t check if it was really your registered residential address.

Then why would they want to do that afterwards?

Because banks are required to keep proper records of their clients… They must be sure that you are who you say who you are, and live at the address you gave them. A bank not doing so could lose their banking license. And it becomes clear now that N26 makde mistakes.

A quote from: https://www.lovelink.top/archives/5762

“Already in October, the German flagship fintech N26 was according to media reports in the sights of financial supervision Bafin advised. Among other things, it should have gone to potential security deficiencies in the identification of new customers – the N26 has denied. Now the Handelsblatt writes, citing insiders, that Bafin has identified “numerous shortcomings” that the N26 must shut down as quickly as possible.”

Bafin is the German authority supervising banks.

Here another one: https://paymentandbanking.com/en/n26-and-supervision-was-that-necessary/
N26 accused of not identifying clients in a good way.

"After the identity check, further security measures such as continuous transaction monitoring took place.”

Things like using a VPN, logging in often from IP’s not in your home country, logging in with different IP’s from different countries etc can be reasons to terminate your account. Just google “N26 lose account” and you will find a LOT of people complaining.

Here, also interesting to read: https://www.reddit.com/r/number26bank/comments/8k4rwk/beware_if_you_change_countries_you_could_lose/

Just moving from Greece to Malta can be a reason to close your account.

There are a lot of examples of European banks that had to close or who received big fines because they didn’t check their clients in a good way and were accused of money laundering. You can be sure that N26 will try to prevent this from happening.

Then why haven’t I received any notification from any of my banks in different countries for 5+ years?

What’s the percentage of those who complain out of the total number of customers of N-26? How do you know? It may be 0.1% If someone complains, it means nothing.

Did you read the articles I gave you ?

:frowning: Just tried for an N26 account as an American. Turned down because I don’t have a rental or mortgage agreement and utility bill to verify address.

Hey, hope spring eternal: Their customer service is writing back and forth with me about the rejection after I’d called them. I’ve been able to give the c/o address in the USA I have where I sublet from my friends stateside and they are currently taking an image of my passport to verify my identity.

fingers crossed

edited to add the next day: Score, with my passport and just telling them my friend’s address that I sublet in sometimes I’ve a US account with them. It looks like I’ll need to find a European address to do similar for an EU account, it was nice of them to work with me on the residence issue!!

“What’s the percentage of those who complain out of the total number of customers of N-26? How do you know? It may be 0.1% If someone complains, it means nothing.”

Do you seriously think that I am going to count for you ? I provided enough information.

Dimitri,
On behalf of many silent readers who receive copies of your very informative posts to this forum on the banking topics, ‘Danke Schoen’. Welcome any time. I’d like to do something with DKB, so I’ll have to improve my German, that’s all, and find a business connection and people inside the bank with whom to make a personal and business relation.
This ‘out of bounds’ tactic has worked for me in the past, in the US, and I’m not American, and have never lived there. Just have a major bank client, in tight with the manager, and strings can be pulled.
Good idea to be a member of various business groups, and to be known.

And nice to meet Thomas K Running and Joanne as they zoomed through Japan recently.
Very nice people, and great moderators for this community.

Or noise rather.

Monese Bank Free account

  • Sign up bonus 15€ or or 15£ (use code NOMADS10)
  • Low fees easy sign up, without bills etc.

How it works ?

  • Simple
  • €0/month
  • Free Contactless debit card
  • Free ATMs
  • €200 Free monthly (2% fee after) Foreign currency card spending
  • €2,000 Free (2% fee after) Foreign currency transfers
  • Free & instant to other Monese accounts
  • Free standard transfers to other banks in the same currency.
  • Get the Monese Bank app
  • Good banking app, basic account is full for free. No month fees.
  • Great in EU and UK. Bank in Belgium and UK.

Download Monese App and use refferal code.

Or use this link on your phone.