Vivid is a relatively recent neobank which has the particularity of strongly highlighting new banking uses such as cashback or the management of sub-accounts. Investing also takes a big chunk of experience: Corporate stock, cryptocurrency, and even precious metals. But is it a neobank that has its place among the leaders of the genre?
Features of Vivid
| ? Opening Bonus | 20 EUROS |
| ? Income requirement | None |
| ? Bank card | VISA |
| ? Initial deposit | None |
| ? Account maintenance fees | None |
| ? Sponsorship | YES |
| ? App | Android/iOS |
| ? Mobile payment | Apple Pay / Google Pay |
| ? 3D Secure | Yes |
Vivid in a nutshell
In recent years, a good dozen European neobanks have been born, based on the same mobility model and seeking to stand out from each other. Vivid is one of them and relies above all on its investment and cash back.
Vivid is a bank of German origin (just like N26) and relatively recent since it was created in 2019 under the impetus of two Russian entrepreneurs: Alexander Emeshev and Artem Yamanov. The latter are no strangers to the world of finance since they previously worked as executives for the Russian bank Tinkoff Bank.
the business model of Vivid was created around the BaaS platform (Banking-as-a-Service) from SolarisBank, a Fintech specialist. This allows it to take advantage of a banking license while offering its customers its own specific products such as investment in company shares, on the stock market, but also in cryptocurrency.
Today, the neobank Vivid is available in most European countries and intends to further expand its activities thanks to the regular investment from which it benefits. The company is now valued at 775 million euros.
Prices: a free card, another paying, that’s all!
Vivid’s banking offer couldn’t be more readable. Only two types of cards are available with very distinct services:
| Vivid Standard | Vivid Prime | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | €9.90 /month (3 months free) |
| Initial deposit | None | None |
| Type of debit | Systematic authorization | Systematic authorization |
| Income conditions | None | None |
| Payment abroad | Free (in foreign currency) | Free (in foreign currency) |
| Withdrawals abroad | Free (in foreign currency) | Free (in foreign currency) |
| Payment cap | 999.999€ /month | 999.999€ /month |
| Withdrawal limit | 200€ /month | 1000€ /month |
| cash back | €20 maximum cashback per month | €100 maximum cashback per month |
| Cryptocurrency | 1 free crypto transaction per month (1% beyond) | Unlimited crypto transactions |
| Closing account | Free | Free |
The formalities are similar to what other online banks and especially neobanks can offer. This is also the case for payments and withdrawals abroad, although the approach is a little different. Vivid does not offer free of charge for each payment or withdrawal, it is necessary to buy foreign currencies yourself from the application in order to store them in a “Travel” sub-account. Fortunately, Vivid automatically detects the corresponding currency, and therefore the correct sub-account so that you do not have to incur any fees. We would have liked this to be done more simply, because you have to know this system beforehand before going on a trip abroad.
How to fund your account?
It is not necessary to make a defined and compulsory contribution to have access to your Vivid account. However, as soon as it opens, the bank offers you to make a first transfer to have full use of it. By default, if your account is linked to a Gmail address, the transfer of money by Google Pay is selectable, but it is of course possible to make a one-off transfer from another account via the card number, an IBAN or by adding another bank among the hundreds available. Be careful though: if you have a free Vivid account, transfers cannot go beyond 1000 euros. To exceed this limit, you must have a Vivid Premium account or subscribe to a monthly boost (3.40 euros).
An account in minutes
Opening an account with Vivid is done through the mobile app only. The operation does not take more than five minutes and only requires a few supporting documents apart from the tax number and a photo of both sides of the identity card, which can be validated by the application itself. . Once the smartphone has been validated by a code sent by SMS, you have direct access to the application and to your entire account without delay, which is very appreciable.
From the outset, we understand that Vivid relies heavily on its system of ” pocket », kinds of sub-accounts with their own IBAN and the characteristics you give them: regular money, cryptocurrencies, various investments or precious metals. The focus is therefore on the complete organization of his money and investments. It is also possible to create up to 15 pockets and share them with whoever you want. It’s very practical and above all childishly simple, we appreciate the idea.
Initial deposit and overdraft management
Vivid is accessible free of charge and does not require any initial contribution, whatever the level of subscription.
No overdraft authorization is issued. You therefore agree to fund your account to guarantee a positive balance. If the account was inadvertently negative, it would then no longer be possible to make any payment or withdrawal.
Welcome bonuses
Few neobanks regularly offer welcome bonuses or when opening an account. However, Vivid may sometimes put forward a few offers when opening a Prime account, including money transferred directly to the account.
Referral bonus
Inevitably, for a neobank, the acquisition strategy often involves an attractive sponsorship system. On top of that, Vivid offers a program based on two rewards for the referrer, namely:
- 30 euros sign-up bonus, once it has been validated
- Up to 70 euros credited to the sub-account dedicated to the cash back by godson.
These bonuses are also transferred to the godchild on the accounts and sub-accounts he has just created.
These benefits are subject to change at any time.
Vivid Insurance and Services
It was to be expected, Vivid does not offer any particular insurance, whether via a free or Prime account. The VISA organization is only present as a card publisher and the organization’s insurance policy is not insured in the case of a Vivid account. Do not rely on your card for reimbursement of medical expenses or repatriation from abroad or for reimbursement in the event of loss or theft of valuables. Other neobanks are much better off in this case, we think of N26 or Revolut which benefit from the dedicated Mastercard and VISA insurance policy on most cards.
A very complete Cashback offer
In addition to the investment, this is an aspect on which Vivid relies heavily. From the outset, once your account has been created in the first seconds of accessing the application, Vivid strongly encourages you to go through the ” reward which corresponds to the famous system allowing you to accumulate money as you shop, in store or online. Inevitably, the gains will be greater (often double) if you opt for a Prime account. There are even ” Super Deals to unlock by inviting friends with refunds in cash back up to 30%.
We note that Vivid highlights the brands and services with which it is in partnership, whether in fast food, fashion, cosmetics or transport.
It is even possible to directly search for a hotel or rent a car from the application and obtain the cash back corresponding. Even Instagram is put to work as Prime accounts can unlock up to 20% of cash backon a selection of services and brands simply by promoting them on the social network.
We had rarely seen a neobank betting so much on this aspect, well ahead of N26 or even Revolut.
Customer service
Vivid’s customer support is 100% managed online. The bank strongly encourages using the application, even if it is possible to send an email to customer service. For the first solution, simply select the chat icon at the top right to access a support page. Strangely, the main FAQ questions are in English while the answers are in French. The chat itself is opened via the corresponding menu. He is also rather reactive with answers in French.
Otherwise, the FAQ is very complete and covers the majority of the products put forward by the bank, all accessible on the application without going through a browser page and especially in French.
The perfect bank for cryptocurrency enthusiasts?
Vivid is a neobank designed for investors and, naturally, cryptocurrencies had to have a good place there. The neobank acts as a real trading platform, just like Binance or eToro.
It therefore allows you to invest and sell in fractions or not in around fifty cryptos, from Bitcoin to Ethereum, Litecoin and even Dogecoin. In this case, a Vivid Prime account is recommended so as not to have a limitation on the number of transactions authorized free of charge, a free account only giving the right to one free transaction per month, the others entailing a 1% fee.
Our opinion on the Vivid mobile application
The Vivid application largely takes up the logic of organization and design of other neobanks (we think mainly of N26 and Revolut). The interface is very lightly loaded with a horizontal menu placed at the bottom to navigate between the different tabs.
The home page gives an overview of the pockets and the activity menu on general expenses, regardless of the account. Another tab named “Payments» gives the possibility of transferring money directly into itspocketsor simply to someone via a phone number.
The other menus relate to the investment in company (ETF) and thecash back. For the first, in order to have access to the dedicated portfolio, Vivid gives a test in the form of a questionnaire to find out whether or not one is able to embark on this kind of business while warning about the risks.
It should also be noted that Vivid clients do not own the shares themselves, everything is done through the intermediary of the bank’s brokerage partner: CM Equity. These are also fractions of shares and not full, and it is possible to obtain them from 0.01 cent invested. This investment component concerns ETFs as well as cryptocurrencies or heavy metals. Like a brokerage platform, you can see an overview of the current values which are updated every 24 hours.
thecash backalso takes up a good part of the application pane with a dedicated menu placed in the center of the main moment. We therefore have access to current promotions on many brands with more or less attractive return rates on purchases depending on the type of account. Vivid is also doing its utmost to encourage you to switch to a Prime account, the Super Deals and the portfolio of 100 euros max being accessible only by the latter (20 euros maximum for a free account).
We also realize that Vivid almost acts as a “great appin the sense that it is even possible to find a hotel room or rent a car via the partners of the neobank without having to leave the application. Too bad that everything is not directly integrated, the application opening a web page in this case.
Overall, Vivid’s application experience is very satisfying and fundamentally different in its approach than most other online banks and neobanks. Apart from a few hiccups in the translation and a little adaptation time needed to get used to it, it’s all good.