N26 is an?ambitious German digital bank, headquartered in Berlin

Digital business banking explained: N26. Source: facebook.com

This ambitious German digital bank, headquartered in Berlin, launched a business account after recognizing the number of freelance and self-employed users is on the rise. Currently, the product is not aimed at fully-fledged companies, so it resembles more closely the personal accounts of N26.

N26 business account features

Cashback. Registered freelancers get 0.1% cashback on every card purchase calculated every quarter.

• Mastercard debit card. Account owners receive a worldwide-accepted Mastercard free of charge. Mastercard 3D Secure (3DS) is an applicable extra layer of security that helps prevent fraud when making payments online using your N26 account.
• Categorization. The banking app uses AI to automatically categorize your spending. All expenses are clearly presented in diagrams. You can also create your own personal hashtags and attach them to your transactions to organize them better.
• Exporting data. You can download your transaction statements as PDF documents to further store or print them out.
• Real-time account management. You’ll receive instant push notifications on every transaction. You can customize your account settings in the app. For instance, you can block foreign transactions or set a limit on ATM transactions if you rarely withdraw cash.

Registered freelancers get 0.1% cashback on every card purchase. Source: facebook.com

Availability and limitations

• You should reside in a country where N26 operates: Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia. The service is soon expected to launch in the UK as well.
• You can’t have two separate accounts at N26 concurrently. It’s possible to do business banking and spending with your N26 Business Mastercard and personal spending with your additional Maestro card on the same account, though it’s currently available only in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands. Minimum 100 € account balance required to order the additional Maestro card.
• The account can be accessed from the mobile app available in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store or the WebApp available here.
• Unlike other accounts, transfers in foreign currencies aren’t possible with N26 Business within the app.
• Business to business (B2B) payments are not supported with an N26 Business account.
• Support chat is available only from 07:00–23:00 including Sundays and bank holidays. There’s no live phone support.

Signing up for a business account takes less than 10 minutes. Source: n26.com

Fees

There are two types of business accounts available:

1. Totally free account – no monthly fees, zero-sign-up fees, and free ATM withdrawals in Euros
2. Business Black account (not available in Greece and Slovenia) – 9.90€ per month (membership fee), no ATM fees in any currency, plus an attractive Allianz insurance package.

There’s always a €2 fee if you use your Maestro card to withdraw cash (only available in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands). If you need to withdraw foreign currencies with this card, you’ll also pay 1.7% of the amount drawn.

Mastercard withdrawals at ATMs in foreign currencies cost 1.7% of the amount drawn. There’s no FX markup fee, so it’s still cheaper than withdrawals from traditional bank accounts.

Application

Signing up for a business account takes less than 10 minutes. You should fill in your country of residence, first and last names, birthdate, and contacts. The bank will also need your shipping address to deliver your Mastercard debit card.

There are two types of business accounts available. Source: n26.com

To prove your identity, you’ll need a valid ID which you can present in an attached photo or video file. You can check if your ID type is supported by N26 here.

In a few days, check your mailbox for your new N26 Mastercard.

About the company

Receiving their ECB banking license back in 2016 was a key turning point in N26’s corporate history.

When the team of this German startup decided to take a chance at a fully-fledged mobile banking, they employed less than 20 people who have just closed out their USD 10 million Series A funding round.

In the last three years, they have expanded their consumer base to 2.3 million customers across Europe and the USA, and rapidly improved their product, offering across 17 markets. It currently employs more than 1000 people and has offices in Berlin, New York and Barcelona.

Moreover, now the company is known as Europe’s best-funded startup. This January it eclipsed Revolut’s meteoric $1.7 billion valuation with its own $300 million fundraiser that put a $2.7 billion price tag on the German bank.

Now the company is known as Europe’s best-funded startup. Source: facebook.com

This mobile bank offers everything you need for handling your finances in an app. Lock and unlock your card, set spending and withdrawal limits, save and budget using Spaces, and instantly send money with MoneyBeam. Opening a standard N26 account is fast, paperless and won’t cost you a thing.

Surely, their business offers are just at the incipient stage. They can’t fully cater to corporate needs. However, the bank has its peculiar client base: self-employed nomads who prefer free working schedules to office walls and may offer their services cross-border. Because the N26 premium account offers competitive foreign travel insurance, including mobile phone theft, flight delays reimbursement, medical expenses coverage, ATM cash and purchase protection, as well as car rental insurance, it provides business travelers with maximum security and ease.

Considering the stats, the digital bank may have hit the largely underestimated but highly crop-yielding grounds.

Freelance numbers have increased by 45% from just under 6.2 million to 8.9 million in 2013, making them the fastest-growing group in the EU labor market. In Italy, 21% of the labor force is self-employed, while Spain and Slovakia have 13% of freelance workers. There are 1.4 million British freelancers working across all sectors, while 78% of the UK public think that freelancing and flexible working help promote a good work/life balance.

There are staggering 53 million people doing freelance work in the US – 34% of the national workforce. Though N26 business products aren’t available there yet, they have good prospects among the American dreamers.

SEE ALSO:?Digital business banking explained: Revolut