German-based digital bank, N26, offers personal and business bank accounts designed with the jet-set lifestyle in mind. Customers get a generous suite of complimentary travel, mobility and lifestyle insurance plus free foreign currency ATM withdrawals.
N26 also provides special discounts for customers through its partner companies, which include Hotels.com (for European account holders) and Udemy, Fiverr and Skill Yoga (for US account holders). What’s more, Business account holders can earn cash back on many of their everyday purchases.But can business owners take advantage of these benefits if they live in Canada? Are there any good alternative services in Canada?
Unfortunately, no. To open a business account with N26, you have to live in one of the following countries:
Account holders must provide personal details (including a shipping address) and ID, which could include a passport, national ID card or residency permit. N26 staff may use video calls to verify that customers identities match the photo ID they provided to open an account.
The type of ID that’s acceptable depends on where you’re from. For example, if you’re Canadian but living in a country where you can open an N26 account, you can use either a passport or residence permit to do so. But, if you’re living in the UK, only a passport is acceptable.
So, if you’re Canadian, you could potentially have an N26 account if you live outside Canada. But if you live in Canada, you’re out of luck.
Yes. There are a number of digital banking services in Canada that offer low fees, financial support tools and strong, user-friendly digital platforms. Read our reviews of the companies below to learn more about convenient ways to handle your money online and on your smartphone.
With a growing number of financial service providers popping up online, narrowing down your options may seem overwhelming. Consider the following points when comparing different online banking services:
Some digital banks like Tangerine offer a wide range of accounts and products and are designed to be customers’ primary banking platform. Other companies may be new to the market or intentionally focusing on offering a few products to service a specific need.
If you have limited and specific financial needs (i.e. transferring money overseas or handling everyday expenses), then you may want to take advantage of a service with limited, yet highly-competitive, offerings. But for more general banking needs, you may want to look for a digital banking service with a variety of products and financial solutions.
Besides saving money by not having fully-staffed, brick-and-mortar branches, digital banking services may also cut down on costs by designing unique pricing tiers for their products. Some examples include monthly or yearly account maintenance fees, foreign transaction fees, money transfer fees or tiered interest rates on credit products. Look for companies that offer low fees and/or interest rates on the products you’ll use the most, and read the fine print to make sure you know what costs to expect.
The most popular digital banking companies tend to have easy, flexible ways of transferring to and from your accounts – including accounts held at other financial institutions. It’s not uncommon to find companies that offer free Interac e-Transfers, email money transfers and bill payments, while some charge a small fee per transaction. Check out customer reviews on sites like the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot to find out which companies handle customers’ money safely and reliably.
Perhaps the biggest trade-off of banking with a digital company is that you don’t have the familiarity and accessibility of interacting face-to-face with real customer service representatives. Look for companies that offers many ways to connect with support staff including live chat, phone, email and online contact forms. 24/7 availability is a huge plus. At the very least, it can helpful to have access to a robust online database of how-to articles and FAQs for when you can’t get in touch with representatives.
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