9 Best Challenger Banks in Europe for 2021

Revolut debuted in 2015 and has since attracted over 2 million members. Despite its huge reported losses, the bank boasts of an elegant, streamlined app that helps in providing progressive banking. Revolut is, however, currently only available in Europe.

Revolt is out to extend and break the barriers to challenger banks. It has particularly set itself apart and is a few paces ahead of the competition with its highly flexible accounts and free international cash transfers. Additionally, you can make fee-free transactions globally, making it the most suited for expatriates who need to send cash home regularly, international students as well as individuals that are always travelling internationally.

Opening an account here is quite straightforward; it all starts by downloading the Revolut app and keying in your personal details after which you will be furnished with a UK account number and sort code. Some of Revolut’s other unique features availed to their premium customers include overseas medical insurance, priority customer support, access to 5 cryptos, lounge key pass access and a host of other goodies that are not availed to the standard package.

N26 is a German based digital-first challenger bank that has over the years found its way throughout Europe. Although the challenger bank has found itself in the government’s cross-hair for not implementing sound systems to curb money laundering, it is still leading the pack in revolutionizing this sector.

It tops our list as one of the best challenger banks for the year not just because of its expansive regional reach but also due to its wide stock of banking features. You can access it from any European Union country and it has been specially designed to address the ease of sending and saving money.

Key among its unique range of features is the fee-free transactions when you use their card to make transactions from any part of the world. The app won’t even charge conversion fees when you pay using different currencies, making it the best for frequent international travellers. In addition to this, the challenger bank is accessible though a slick mobile app that gives you absolute control over your N26 account and debit card.

You can, for instance, lock and unlock the card, set the expenditure limit and also change the pin within the app and without contacting customer support. Here, you can open a free basic current account, or the premium N26 Black and N26 Metal and have your card delivered in between 5 and 7 business days. With a premium package, you will enjoy such features as free payments in any currency, Allianz insurance cover as well as free withdrawals worldwide.

Monese bank describes itself as the ultimate solution to the unhealthy bureaucracies that have been dogging the financial sector for ages. It seeks to provide a ‘true’ digital banking experience, away from the traditional branches and their rigid operations.

This is achieved by making Monese available to anybody within continental Europe by not requesting for proof of address during account registration or pulling out your credit report. This makes it suitable for anyone residing in the over 20 countries making up the European economic area.

You only need to download the challenger banks app and open either the free current account or choose between the two premium options referred to as Middle tier and unlimited tier accounts with a management fee of £4.95 and £14.95 per month respectively.

Some of the perks of opening the account include the freedom to switch between your UK or European account from the app seamlessly, near-absolute control over your debit card and automated bill payment features. Cash withdrawals for the free account are charged at £1 per transaction while the premium account grants you six free withdrawals per month. Exchange rates for two are billed at 2% and 0.5% respectively.

Sterling bank can be best described as a digital piggy bank that was specially designed for individuals looking to get in sync with their spending. It seeks to provide you with 'the best personal current account in the world' specially tuned to help you manage your finances. This implies that it will regularly furnish you with an automated report detailing your expenses and tips on how you can maximize your savings.

Other ways in which the Starling bank stands out include its attractive interest rates on deposits at the rate of 0.5% for balances below £2,000 and 0.25% for those below £85,000. It also allows for goal savings account creation where you can deposit cash manually or automatically. Additionally, the challenger bank will advance you an overdraft facility for eligible accounts or a fixed-rate starling loan.

If you are looking to manage your cash by understanding how you spend your balances to the last coin, you will need the Monzo Bank app and their contactless hot coral debit card.

This challenger banks break down your expenses into twelve categories and keeps tabs on your expenses for each category accordingly. It also stands out from the competition as their current account is accessible to anyone above 16 years. Additionally, it allows for the creation of a separate joint account for existing Monzo account holders.

Interesting Monzo digital bank features include the fact that it provides for fee-free international transactions and ATM withdrawals of up to £200 per month with additional withdrawals attracting a 3% charge. It also offers customized overdrafts to eligible clients with the option of switching off this feature or reducing the overdraft limit within the app. Cash withdrawals and payments in the U.K are free of charge.

The primary difference between Atom Bank and most other digital apps is their approach to money management and savings. While most challenger banks are competing with the traditional banks in offering more flexible current accounts, Atom is targeting long term savings and mortgage services.

The digital banker is so bent on offering long term savings that it doesn’t even provide a debit card for their account, and deposits have to be through bank transfers. The fact that Atom is not a current account implies that you cannot use it for day to day transactions.

Atom digital bank has some of the higher interest rates on savings of all the challenger banks that we have examined so far. It allows for the creation of a goal savings account and the interest rates awarded for each are dependent on such factors as the amount saved and the time limit. You can, however, expect 1% for 3 month fixed savings account and up to 2.3% for a year fixed savings deposit.

Tandem can be best described as a companion or monitor to your accounts and stands out from the rest of the current account oriented digital apps in several ways. For instance, instead of using the app to create a new account, Tandem embeds itself on your existing current account.

Additionally, you can link multiple bank accounts to the Tandem app for easy management. Instead of issuing you with a prepaid debit card, it provides you with Tandem Cashback credit card or a Tandem Journey credit card.

The app is more of a financial management platform that harmonizes your expenditures allowing you to track your spending on different accounts. It collects data from the linked accounts and structures it into coherent expenditure reports that you can use to better understand your money management faults and how to improve on them. It will also use this data to calculate your credit card limit.

Curve is specially designed to provide you with a unified platform where you can keep track of your expenses on different accounts. It is, therefore, best suited for individuals struggling to keep tabs with monthly expenses on different bank accounts.

Like Tandem, Curve makes it possible to link between different bank accounts and manage them from one app. Unlike the former that gives you a credit card however, Curve presents you a debit MasterCard that can be used to facilitate all current account transactions.

When using the Curve Mastercard, withdrawals, deposits and cash transfers are free. Spending and bill payment transactions abroad are also free during weekdays but are charged a mark-up fee of 0.5% during weekends and international holidays. There is also a limit for free international withdraws that are capped at £200 per month and extra withdrawals charged £2 or 2%.

Additionally, there is a limit as to how much you can spend or withdraw using the Curve card that currently stands at £2,000 and £200 per day.

Yolt was launched in 2016 with the promise of bringing modern technologies and efficiency to the financial world. The Yolt app is engineered to enable you to have your banking data in your mobile phone securely, as well as, easily manage and keep track of your finances.

Yolt, unlike other challenger banks, is a third-party provider, pieced to an attractive app that helps you access financial information from your smartphone. Yolt combines your savings accounts, current accounts, and your credit cards to help you check balances from one point.

After analyzing your spending habits, it gives your advice, tips, and better credit deals. Being a third-party means, Yolt does not offer any cards or accounts. It only helps you access your financial data.