3Rank 03 of 8 · Best Travel Money Cards
N26 N26
A full German bank account with deposit protection to €100,000 and no foreign-transaction fee on card payments.
8.7BPR score
- —Price
- German banking licence — deposits protected to €100,000Deposit protection status
- 3 of 8in Best Travel Money Cards
- 8.7BPR score 0–10
Review
What this product is
Written after the analysis, from the same sources the score is built on: the manufacturer's documentation, available studies and verified owner feedback.
The choice if you want your travel card attached to money that is actually guaranteed.
N26 holds a full German banking licence and deposits are covered by the German deposit guarantee scheme up to €100,000 per person under Directive 2014/49/EU. Unlike everything above it in this ranking, that is unambiguous. It is a real current account with a German IBAN, direct debits, salary payments — the whole thing.
Card payments in foreign currencies carry no N26 transaction fee on the free Standard plan; conversion uses the Mastercard rate. That is not quite the interbank rate Revolut offers on weekdays, but the difference is small and it applies seven days a week without a weekend penalty.
Where it costs you. ATM withdrawals in foreign currencies attract a fee on the free plan (paid plans include allowances), and free euro-zone ATM withdrawals are capped monthly. If you take out cash frequently, this is the wrong card.
Support is app- and chat-based like the rest of this category, though as a licensed German bank it operates under BaFin supervision and the complaint routes that come with it. Currency coverage is narrower than Revolut's or Wise's, and there are no multi-currency balances — every transaction converts at the moment it happens.
Technical data
Specification
Figures from the manufacturer's documentation, verified against available outside sources. Values we could not confirm are marked as declared.
- Licence
- German banking licence, BaFin supervised
- Deposit protection
- Yes — €100,000 under Directive 2014/49/EU
- FX on card payments
- No N26 fee on Standard; Mastercard rate
- ATM abroad
- Fee applies on the free plan
- Multi-currency
- No
Component scores
Where the score
comes from.
Four components, equal weight, each on a 0–10 scale and each resting on a named source. The overall score is their mean — the full procedure is in the methodology.
What we liked
- Full German banking licence with deposits protected to €100,000
- No foreign-transaction fee on card payments, seven days a week
- A real current account with a German IBAN
- BaFin supervision and formal complaint routes
Worth knowing
- Foreign-currency ATM withdrawals carry a fee on the free plan
- Free euro ATM withdrawals capped monthly
- No multi-currency balances — everything converts at the moment of spending
- Narrower currency coverage than Revolut or Wise
Comparison
How it compares
within the category
All values come from the same analysis and are comparable only within the category Best Travel Money Cards.
| Product | Score | Deposit protection status | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| WiseTop score | 9.0 | E-money institution — safeguarded, NOT deposit-guaranteed | — |
| N26This product | 8.7 | German banking licence — deposits protected to €100,000 | — |
| Category average8 products analysed | 7.8 | — | — |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
N26 or Revolut for a two-week holiday?
Revolut if you want the sharpest weekday exchange rate and free cash withdrawals. N26 if you would rather the money sat in a deposit-protected bank account and you mostly pay by card. Many people carry both and load the travel card for the trip.
From the same ranking
Other products in Best Travel Money Cards.
The same protocol, the same key parameter, the same set of sources.
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No. 019.0/ 10
Wise
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No. 028.9/ 10
Revolut
Interbank exchange rates on weekdays, free ATM withdrawals to a monthly limit, and the…
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No. 048.1/ 10
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