N26 Switzlerland Review (2023)

N26 Switzerland review – The best EUR bank account in Switzerland

N26 (previously Number26) is a German neobank created in 2013. It’s been granted an EU banking licence.
With more than 500.000 customers in France and more than 1.5 million in Europe, N26 launched in Switzerland in September 2019, then opening its 26th market.
N26 is a strong alternative to neon-free, another neobank headquartered in Zurich that recently launched in Switzerland.

N26 currently offers 3 types of accounts in Switzerland:

Account opening with N26 Switzerland – 10/10

N26 allows you to open a mobile bank account within a few minutes from your smartphone.

What are the bank account requirements

How to open an account with N26 Switzerland

N26 promise a bank account in 8 minutes :

1. Request your account here and get €30 FREE
2. Download the N26 app
3. Verify your identity via the application
4. Add funds to your N26 account (recommended)
5. It’s done! You account is opened

The opening process is quick and simple, but if you’re not sure, continue reading.
Unlike large Swiss banks, N26 will not ask you to provide paper documents. Everything happens in the mobile app.
This video shows you how to verify your identity with N26:

The N26 account allows you to make all the standard transactions (bank transfer, direct debit, etc.) like with any Swiss bank account. But, there is a main difference: the N26 account is in EUR.

The virtual MasterCard is free. If you want a plastic – physical – MasterCard you’ll to subscribe for N26 Smart (€4.90/month) and you will receive it by mail  within 5 to 10 days.

Our opinion on the account opening with N26 Switzerland

Usability of the N26 app – 9/10

N26 being a neobank, a lot has be done to ensure a great user experience:

• The app is fast and intuitive
• Menus are clear and well organised
• Essential features are always visible

The N26 app is rated 4,7 on the Apple Store and 4 on Google Play (65 000 reviews) :

The app is on par with Revolut for example and deserves a 9 out of 10.

N26 app features – 7/10

As a neobank, N26 offer all their services through a mobile application. That means it’s possible to do almost everything from your smartphone:

• Access your payment history
• Make new payments
• Create and share spaces (from the Smart plan)
• Block or freeze your card
• Change the daily and monthly limit of the card
• Change your personal details
• Contact the customer service by Chat
• Change your subscription
• …

The list of features is very complete but some specific to Switzerland are missing:

• eBill not available
• TWINT not available
• Scan of invoices not available

In Switzerland, several neobanks offer eBill and TWINT. Yuh has the advantage of having an integrated TWINT application: Yuh TWINT

And some others can be improved:

Spaces allow you to share sub-accounts and to save money

Card settings are very useful

Unlike Revolut, card settings are very precise, N26 allows you to block online payments or block cash withdrawals.

We can only regret that N26 is not available in CHF and does not offer TWINT and eBill, otherwise it would certainly be the ideal neobank for Switzerland.

N26 Switzerland Credit Card – 5/10

N26 only offers a free virtual Debit MasterCard in Switzerland.

To get the “plastic” card you need to pay €4.90/month and get the Smart plan, which is actually a downgrade from the initial N26 offer that was including a plastic debit card for free.

The virtual debit MasterCard is still a very good option for online shopping and travelling using your smartphone, since it can be linked to Apple Pay or Google Pay.

N26 fees in Switzerland – 7/10

The N26 Standard account is free and includes a virtual debit MasterCard.

N26 MasterCard fees

N26 includes a free virtual debit MasterCard with the Standard account. It used to be a free “plastic” card:

The N26 virtual card is free when used as a payment method, that means for online shopping and mobile payments. There is no fee for payment in foreign currencies and N26 applies the Mastercard’s exchange rates without adding any extra fee or commission.

Cash withdrawals are not always:

1. Up to 3 free cash withdrawals in EUR in Switzerland, then €2 each
2. Cash withdrawals in CHF in Switzerland are subjected to 1,7 % commission
3. Up to 5 free cash withdrawals in EUR in Europe, then €2 each
4. Cash withdrawals in other currencies are subjected to 1,7 % commission

N26 MasterCard limits

N26 has 2 types of limits for payments and withdrawals:

• Card payment limit: maximum of €2,500 per day and €20,000 per month
• Cash withdrawal limit: maximum of €2 500 per day and €20,000 per month

Bank transfers in Switzerland in CHF

Not possible. The N26 account is only available in EUR, it is not suitable for payments in CHF within Switzerland.

For free transfers in Switzerland, it is better to use Swiss neobanks like Neon, YUH or ZAK.

SEPA transfer fees in EUR

Like most neobanks, N26 offers free SEPA transfers in EUR within the SEPA zone. You can create a SEPA payment within seconds from the app.

International SWIFT payments

For bank transfers in foreign currencies (other than EUR), N26 use the services of Wise (TransfertWise) and currently includes 18 foreign currencies (GBP, USD, YEN, Yuan…).
Fees applied by TransfertWise are between 0.5% – 1.5% of the amount transferred,

MoneyBeam: instant money transfert

MoneyBeam is a service created by N26 that allows you to instantly transfer money to another N26 account, for free.

Our opinion about the N26 fees in Switzerland

N26 fees are very clear and transparent. They did not add extra complexity like Revolut.
You get a EUR account, and they allow you to withdraw EUR for free in Switzerland as long as you are a Swiss resident.  SEPA transfers are also free.

But since they “downgraded” the Mastercard to virtual card and kind of force you to get the Smart plan is you want one, we feel that N26 pricing is not cheap anymore, and the free plan is not complete.

Transactions’ speed – 9/10

A wire transfer from a Swiss bank to another Swiss bank is instant, it usually takes a few seconds before showing up on the other account. But N26 is not a Swiss bank and offer different features.

The main purpose of the N26 account is to deal with EUR payments and SEPA bank transfers. Other currencies are handled by Wise (TransferWise).

Our experience is that EUR bank transfers with N26 are very fast, they usually take about 1 hour, sometimes 1 day. Which is far better than large banks in the EURO zone and better than Revolut.

N26 is not the fastest for SEPA transfer: Bunq – a neobank based in the Netherlands – offers instant SEPA transfers!
This is a 9/10 à N26 on this criteria

N26 customer service – 7/10

N26 – Livechat available from monday to sunday – 07:00 to 23:00

With N26, the LiveChat is available quickly within a wide time range. The virtual assistant gets you to wait (usually less than a minute) until a human takes over the conversation.

The N26 agents are well trained and can usually solve any issue very quickly.

(*) Coincidence or irony, the name of the N26 virtual assistant is Neon

This is a screenshot of the N26 TrustPilot Rating we took in July 2020. It was at 4.2 out of 12 167 reviews:

N26 TrustPilot Rating in July 2020

And less than 3 years later, this is the new N26 TrustPilot Rating: only 3.2 out of 27’157 reviews:

There has been a sharp rise of unhappy customers (29% bad reviews) reporting account closed, issues with customer service and more.

It is not our experience even if we noticed that N26 have increased their compliance procedures over the years, which can be annoying at times. -3 points.

Why choose N26 in Switzerland?

N26 being only available in EUR, it is not the best option for Switzerland residents.

But the neobank is an excellent option for online shopping in Europe and travelling to France, Germany or anywhere else in the EURO zone.

Cash withdrawals in EUR are free in Switzerland (up to 3) which is a big advantage against other Swiss banks.

Yuh vs N26 – Which is the best EUR account

Here is our quick decision chart for choosing between Yuh and N26, both accounts are useful for making payments abroad:

To find out how each criterion is judged, read our article Yuh vs N26 – Comparison of October 2023

Neon vs N26 – Which is the best bank account for travel

Here is our quick decision chart for choosing between Neon and N26, both accounts are useful when traveling:

To find out how each criterion is judged, read our article Neon vs N26 – Comparison of October 2023

N26 Fequently Asked Questions

✅  Can I have a Swiss IBAN with N26?

No, N26 is a German neobank, you will get an IBAN starting with DE.
If you want to have a Swiss IBAN in CH, you need to open an account with either Neon, Zak, Yapeal or Yuh

✅  Is N26 Metal available in Switzerland?

No, N26 does not currently offer all plans in Switzerland:

• N26 You (the Premium version) is not yet available in Switzerland
• N26 Metal is also not yet available in Switzerland

Consider that N26 is only available in Switzerland since September 2019 and they launched with 2 plans only, so you may expect to see You and Metal coming in a near future.

✅  N26 vs Revolut, which neobank to choose?

That depends on your needs. For a use in the EURO zone in EUR, N26 is the best solution. While Revolut is more interesting for multi-currency payments and transactions.

We will soon publish a detailed comparison.

✅  Is the N26 account a good option for use in Switzerland only?

No, the N26 account is more suitable for use in the EURO zone.