I've been trying to set up an account with N26 for the past 3 weeks and it has been a complete headache. Were it not for the fact that I need an account asap in Germany and it is difficult with traditional banks, I would have quit. First they were unable to validate my passport despite multiple attempts. I was told to start a chat to resolve the issue. I had to log into the app to validate myself so that I could start a chat online, yet when I would do so I would be brought to a dialogue screen that said my account was still being reviewed and would take a couple days (it had been a week) and the CTA at the bottom of the screen was blank and non-functional! I had to delete and restart my phone and reinstall the app multiple times. Finally it worked after I was able to talk to someone online. Then my payment for the first membership fee never worked— I tried multiple cards all with sufficient balance and billing details. They told me to try it without wifi?! Absurd. But I did. It still didn’t work so I sent a transfer which takes a couple days; it arrived in my account today and when I went to try to complete my account activation it gives no option to deduct from the topped up account. Ridiculous. I started another chat— the chat even with humans feels insincere, scripted and not intelligent— and they told me they can see my membership is approved and that the amount will be automatically debited but may take a few days. I was given no prior insight that this would be the case, no note or message in any of the dialogues. Infuriating, and not a good sign for what the rest of my experience with N26 may entail. Will be looking for a different bank.

I’ve been waiting for a reply from the CS team for 5 days. The CS bot is not helpful at all and their human CS team seems to be super understaffed. A far cry from competitors like Revolut or Wise who do this infinitely better.

I had several fraudulent charges here that they did not assume responsibility for and were very slow to respond to. This is not a legitimate banking institution and your money will not be safe here. Furthermore their customer service is slow, limited and not helpful. I understand you may need to set up a quick online account at some point but please only use in emergency situations!