To say that banks have not jumped into cryptocurrencies is an understatement. Traditional establishments seem to have long taken a dim view of these potentially explosive assets, which furthermore escaped their control. And then Revolut stepped in in 2017, becoming the first online bank in the world to offer its customers the purchase and sale of cryptos directly from its platform. Its direct competitor N26 took time to react, to the extent that it only offered this service from October 2022. And only in Austria to begin with. It was not until January 2023 that the German neobank decided to expand it to Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Ireland and Portugal. Which left French customers in the lurch.
But after more than a year of waiting, all French N26 users can now also access N26 Crypto. This therefore also includes customers with a free account. Jérémie Rosselli, Managing Director of N26 France, also reveals in the press release bringing the news that the subsidiary he manages currently has three million customers in France.
Crypto for Dummies
With N26 Crypto, the neobank is not targeting veterans of the crypto market. Jérémie Rosselli makes no secret of it: “This first investment product, on cryptoassets, will allow our clients to take, simply and safely, their first steps in these new types of assets which are arousing a lot of interest.”. N26 Crypto is therefore an offer completely integrated into the neobank application. It allows you to consult the price of cryptos and the state of the wallet at the same time as the user’s traditional bank accounts. N26 obviously promises the best security for this service. The German company has also partnered with Bitpanda, a major player in the sector, to manage transactions and store cryptocurrencies.
For beginners
In the opinion of users in other European countries where the offer is already deployed, N26 Crypto is a solution that offers great comfort of use. It should prove ideal for customers wanting to get started in cryptocurrency trading without the complications usually associated with transferring funds between different accounts and platforms. Transactions can be completed simply, with funds and cryptocurrencies instantly showing up in the user’s crypto wallet, directly linked to their main bank account. However, it does not seem possible to transfer cryptos from the N26 Crypto / Bitpanda account to a wallet, i.e. an external wallet, which allows the assets to be physically stored, and therefore owned. A decision which will not bother beginner users, but which could prove frustrating for those who gain confidence and want to venture further into the world of crypto trading.
Finally, on the price side, N26 Metal customers will be able to carry out transactions under more advantageous conditions, with transaction fees of 1% applied for bitcoin trading and 2% for all other cryptocurrencies. Compared to 1.5% and 2.5% respectively for other N26 customers.