Instant payments and money transfers

An instant payment is a type of money transfer from one bank to another that’s complete in a matter of seconds, rather than a few business days. Instant payments are available 24/7, 365 days a year. When you send an instant payment with N26, the recipient receives the money in their bank account almost immediately, making it a convenient way to pay last-minute bills and avoid late fees, or to quickly send and receive money from others.

A standard SEPA bank transfer usually takes about 2-3 business days for the money to be available to the recipient. In contrast, an instant bank transfer—also called SEPA Instant Credit Transfer—only takes seconds, so the money is available for the recipient to use almost immediately. Standard SEPA bank transfers are only processed on business days, whereas N26’s instant bank transfers are processed around the clock—24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This means that instant bank transfers can be sent and received by N26 customers at any time, even on public holidays or weekends.

Receiving instant bank transfers—also known as SEPA Instant Credit Transfers—is free for all N26 customers. Sending an instant bank transfer is free for all N26 Smart, N26 Business Smart, N26 You, N26 Business You, N26 Metal, and N26 Business Metal customers. For N26 Standard and N26 Business Standard customers, a €0.99 fee applies. All N26 customers can also use MoneyBeam to instantly pay and get paid from their N26 contacts at no extra cost.

N26 customers can use MoneyBeam to instantly request, send, and receive money from others who also bank with N26, without having to enter their bank details. MoneyBeam is free for all N26 customers. To send a MoneyBeam, open your N26 app and tap on ‘Send Money’, select ‘MoneyBeam’, and follow the prompts. To request money from another N26 customer, tap on ‘Add Money’ then ‘Request from N26 friends’ and follow the prompts.

N26 has partnered with Wise (formerly TransferWise) to offer easy, fast, and reliable international money transfers in 38 currencies. Simply select ‘Send money’ in your N26 app, then tap ‘Foreign Currency Transfer’. With N26 and Wise, you’ll always get the real market exchange rate, no hidden fees, and full transparency—we’ll show you a detailed overview of the low transfer fee and the exact amount the recipient will get in their bank account before you confirm the international money transfer.

Once you’ve opened an N26 bank account, you can top up your N26 account instantly with a debit card, credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, iDEAL (only in Netherlands), GiroPay (only in Germany), EPS (only in Austria) and Bancontact (only in Belgium). You can also top up your N26 account by requesting money from your N26 contacts via MoneyBeam or making a SEPA bank transfer from another bank to your N26 account.