The best “virtual banks” in the app.

In the last few years, virtual and app-accessible financial management services replacing banks have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. And in fact, why not – we are an operator for whom online is a natural environment, and we have replaced physical branches with managing accounts from your phone. We present a similar view on the functionality of services, which is why today we will look at some of our counterparts in the banking world.

Who needs this? Who is it for?

Aren't ordinary banks enough? After all, almost all of them have dedicated applications that allow you to manage your account, send transfers quickly, and block your card if, Odin forbid, such a need arises. That's true, but virtual services have certain advantages unavailable to traditional banks. The lack of expensive-to-maintain branches means that funds saved by the company can be invested in solutions that benefit the customer. 💰 Furthermore, their international nature allows for easier currency management than with "brick-and-mortar" banks. And this is where applications show their true potential – currency exchange on a traditional bank account requires opening a special currency account or is burdened with high commissions. 📈 In addition to earning on spreads, which are the differences between asset buy and sell rates, various handling fees are added to currency exchange, quickly draining the user's account. Virtual banks reduce these by compensating through cutting business operating costs and introducing premium services. 💸

See also: Mobile Internet at Mobile Vikings

Revolut

Revolut is currently the most popular digital bank. By setting up an account in the app, we gain access to a virtual wallet, where we can store funds in various currencies in its sub-accounts. We can transfer funds between them freely, and it all starts with topping up the account via transfer or card with funds from one of 18 available countries. 🌎 Payments are made using a card that we receive by mail – in the free plan, it allows for withdrawing the equivalent of PLN 800 from an ATM and PLN 5000 in currency exchange per month. Above these amounts, a premium option must be purchased, otherwise, a commission will be charged. The premium version also provides access to business lounges at over 1000 international airports worldwide. It is clear that Revolut's services are primarily aimed at travelers. Currency exchange incurs no additional fees from Monday to Friday and takes a few seconds. ⏲️ On weekends, the commission jumps from 0% to 0.5%, and it's worth keeping this in mind when planning a trip. Revolut also offers the option to store funds in cryptocurrencies. Currently, 5 of them are available: Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple. The app also allows trading stocks from NASDAQ and NYSE exchanges. 📉

Monese

During his move to the UK, the founder of Monese encountered difficulties related to opening an account. The British market requires many formalities from a new bank customer, which can be hard to meet for people without a payment history in the country. 😩 Inspired by this, he created a business in 2015 that bypasses these requirements. Currently, Monese allows you to maintain a free account in one of two currencies – British Pound or Euro. Similar to Revolut, the app's operating mechanism involves initially topping up the account and then using it with the provided card. Its limits are €/£ 200 for ATM withdrawals or €/£ 2000 for terminal payments, and above these, an additional fee is charged if you are using the free plan. 🏧 Monese gained considerable popularity thanks to its referral program, which allows those inviting new customers to receive 15 units of their chosen currency from the company for any spending right from the start. This is a good option for people traveling within the Eurozone or to the UK.

Curve

It's not exactly a bank, nor does it require account top-ups like the services above. So what is it then? 🤔 Curve is an aggregator that allows you to connect all your payment cards to one app. If you use multiple accounts and don't want to shuffle a deck of cards for the vendor like Wild Bill Hickok ♠️ with every payment, this is the ideal solution to bring order to your wallet once and for all. In addition to convenience, Curve also offers cashback – every payment made at one of the locations specified by the provider results in 1% returning to your account. The list of companies offering this option includes Netflix and Spotify, among others. One card to rule them all. 💍

See also: How to top up your account at Mobile Vikings?

N26

What distinguishes the German N26 from other virtual financial services is the fact that it is a bank. While Revolut or Monese only act like banks, legally they are entirely different entities. 🏦 And although N26 has no physical branches and maintains an app-based format typical of its competitors, its operation is based on the same requirements that bind the world's largest financial companies. What does the customer gain from this? First and foremost, security – funds are secured by the Bank Guarantee Fund, so even in the event of the German company's collapse, the money remains safe. N26 also does not charge currency exchange fees, which protects against additional costs, especially since the account is only available in one currency, the Euro. 💳 This does not mean it is a less convenient solution. Card payments are as smooth as with Revolut. The only downside here is the waiting time for transfers – after all, we are dealing with a foreign financial institution, so every transfer to and from a Polish account is automatically treated as foreign.

What to choose ultimately? As is usually the case in such articles, we don't have a clear answer to this question. However, from the beginning, we did not want this post to in any way decide which solution is the best, but merely to present possible options to those who haven't heard of them. Who will survive in the market the longest, we will find out in time, and we are observing this battle with attention. As the last virtual-operator-what-is-it in Poland not to be acquired by a large network, we can say that it's nice to remain in the fight, and we wish the best of the above the same! 💪

And if you're interested in taking care of your phone's security, we recommend antivirus-apps-protect-smartphone-from-illness that will help you with this!