Top 5 mobile banks

Top 5 mobile banking apps
November 2024

Revolut
Monthly Cost: Free | premium options available
Card Cost: £4.99 or currency equivalent
Countries Suported: EEA, Switzerland, Australia
  • 0% commission on foreign exchange rates
  • User friendly App
  • Features to help save
  • Good feature set for standard users without having to go premium
  • Recently approved to get a banking license (better protection for consumers)
  • £200 ATM withdrawals per month for standard users might be too low for some
  • No telephone support
FREE card delivery offer £4.99 / €5.99 savings
N26
Monthly Cost: Free | premium options available
Card Cost: Free
Countries Suported: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK
  • Free to get started
  • Secure
  • User friendly App
  • Webapp also available
  • Features to help save money for goals
  • Great features for standard users without having to go premium
  • Only 3 to 5 free ATM withdrawals per month
  • Some complicated rules related to costs
  • No telephone support
Bunq
Monthly Cost: Free
Card Cost: Free
Countries Suported: EU/EEA/UK
  • Support for sub accounts each with IBAN
  • Pots feature to help save
  • European banking permit
  • Good discounts on premium for groups of 4
  • Slice Group allows you to track and split spending in groups
  • €0.99 cost per withdrawal on free tier
  • 0.5% charge on deposits on free tier
Monese
Monthly Cost: Free | Plus & Premium plans available
Card Cost: £4.95 or currency equivalent
Countries Suported: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and the UK
  • Great Security
  • User friendly App
  • Graphs offer a good way to see your spending habits across time
  • €1 cost per ATM cash withdrawals on free plan
  • 2% foreign currency exchange rate on free plan
  • No savings features
  • 2% on card spend and ATM usage under free plan
Monzo
Monthly Cost: Free
Card Cost: Free
Countries Suported: UK
  • 0% commission on foreign exchange rates
  • Pots feature to help save
  • Monzo.me site to send/receive funds from website
  • 1% interest for any savings pot over £1000
  • Optional overdraft feature
  • Unlimited free withdrawals in UK
  • Not fully protected yet
  • Only available to UK residents
  • No premium options

What are mobile banking only apps?

Mobile banking only apps are the future of the way we store, send and recieve money!

Mobile banking apps (AKA challenger banks) are a revolutionary method of banking that is sweeping across several countries. These apps are not to be confused with traditional banks that offer a mobile banking application but are modern types of banking apps that focus on offering a few key services in a modern & more cost efficient way.

Mobile banking apps cut out costs such as rates to convert money into different currencies and offer modern banking features that you do not typically find at banks.

The best thing is that most of them offer a great set of services for free (with premium services optional) and this allows you to save quite a bit of money without having to spend anything.

What features are usually found in mobile banking apps?

Real Time Notifications
See exactly what’s coming in and out of your account. As soon as a charge is made, you get an instant notification on your phone
Easy transfers
Want to transfer some money to a friend using the same app? Simply send the money directly from the app by entering your friends mobile number. Transfers are done in real time and completely free.
Analytics
See how much you’re spending in different sectors (entertainment, groceries, health, travel, etc. Mobile banking apps are able to group amounts spent automatically by category
Virtual Cards
Want to make an online purchase but not completely sure if the vendor is safe to share you card details with? You can now create a virtual credit card number for just one purchase
Card Lock
Lost or stolen card? No need for long calls to a bank - simply open the app and tap a button and your card would be immediately blocked. You can also unblock it in the same way at any time.
Security
For added security you can also manage what type of transactions your card should be allowed to do directly from the app. ATM withdrawals, online shopping, contactless, foreign purchases can be enabled/disable with one tap