Number26 Is a Bank Designed for the 21st Century | Hacker News Reader

Number26 Is a Bank Designed for the 21st Century

techcrunch.com

5 pointsnirajs4 comments

If I understand correctly, Number26 is not a Bank.

It's a Berlin based FinTech Startup, that is building an app for a partner (german bank). This app integrates your MasterCard, and using an API it can track your Transactions. While this is really cool, it's not really new. There are other banks doing similar things in Germany.

Also,it will always take two days for transactions to show up on the statement of both parties of a transaction, as long as one of them doesn't have some sort real time transaction processing. It's not done if only one side has the disruptive technology.

I am curious to know how well this works here in cash-centric Germany. Many businesses won't accept debit cards, and even less accept credit cards, while at the same time withdrawing cash from an ATM may be a hassle since, depending on your card, you might be charged a fee for withdrawing cash from an ATM that is not part of your bank's network.

So, I definitely wish them well, I think the German banking system require becoming more friendly to customers.

Which business where you regularly spend more than 10€ doesn't accept debit cards?

I found the tc article rather funny. They are complaining about the banking system in europe, when in my experience it's the US banking system that's archaic. People are still dealing with cheques regularly! I haven't touched a cheque in years.

Media Markt and Saturn are two businesses that I'd expect would take credit cards but they don't. Many restaurants (where you can spend more than €10 if you are more than one person, even here in Berlin) only accept cash. Most of the cheap Supermarkets don't take credit cards but will take EC (debit) cards, which I don't think Number26 offers - judging by going through their website. Nevertheless less, I applied for an invitation.

I don't know anything about the banking system in the US, but having moved to Germany from Britain four years ago, I thought the German system is archaic. When I moved, many online retailers wouldn't take credit cards or PayPal but you would have to transfer money to them from your account. Most everyone I know carry around large amounts of cash because if you are stuck without it, you will have to look for a cash machine that won't charge you. You can get cards that allow you to withdraw money without fees, I have one, but those are still rare.

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