The “neobanks”, the term that colloquially refers to emerging companies that offer basic financial services With the help of technology, they have been trying for years to gain part of the market in Spain without having managed to take off so far. Like the bank, these entities offer basic services such as payment accounts, cards and, on occasion, even loans, with the singularity that they do so exclusively through digital channels and especially through mobile applications.
However, even with this type of service clear, doubts arise about which entities can really be considered “neobanks” and which cannot, since there is no legal definition or regulation in this regard. Thus, for example, there is a certain consensus in including some names such as Revolut, N26, Bunq, Monzo Bank, Wize, Bnext or Qonto under this definition. However, other options that are very well received in Spain, such as MyInvestor or Imagin Bank, would be left out. traditional bank owned such as Andbank or CaixaBank.
And in addition, it is also increasingly common when talking about “neobanks” to enter other categories such as “challenger banks”, which offer services for individuals and have a banking license, the case of Orange Bank, or “Banks as a service”, banking service platforms for other companies, for example Solarisbank. Although none of these entities is characterized by providing transparent business or customer data that allows a classification to be drawn up, Revolut and N26 would be among the most popular “neobanks” in Spain.
Revolut has a banking license issued by the Bank of Lithuania and the money entrusted to their accounts is protected by the guarantee fund of that country, while N26 offers customers in Spain an account number with a Spanish IBAN, although savings are covered by Germany. In addition to accounts and cards, common services in most “neobanks”, N26 sells insurance, and Bnext, an electronic money institution registered in Spain, other products through a “marketplace” or online store.
The experts at the kelisto.es comparator add Rebelion Pay to the list of the main “neobanks” in Spain, which operates through an English electronic money institution and is limited to offering accounts and cards; as well as Vivid Money, an agent linked to Solarisbank, with accounts, cards and investment products. They would complete the Orange Bank list, which acts in Spain as a branch of a community entity and that it is covered by the French deposit guarantee fund, with an offer of accounts and cards to which it has recently added consumer loans.
An alternative to banking?
For the client who seeks to have all the financial services in the same entity, it is not, since the “neobanks” They are usually specialized in very specific products. (accounts and card), but they could be an alternative for an audience that does not mind working with several different providers. For the experts at kelisto.es, as they are companies smaller than traditional banks can be more agile to apply changes and improvements in their processes and test different technologies and products, which would allow them to respond faster to customer needs.
Among the main advantages are the price and the conditions of its products that can be “very competitive” when compared with those of traditional banking thanks to the fact that they operate exclusively online, which can in turn be a barrier for other customers. On the other hand, it must be borne in mind that many of these “neobanks” cannot be the only financial option for a customer, since they still do not allow to domicile unemployment benefitsthe payment of pensions or the payment of taxes.