Looking for PayPal alternative in Germany - Bunq, Klarna, Revolut or N26?
Looking for PayPal alternative in Germany - Bunq, Klarna, Revolut or N26?
Hello everyone,
I'm living in Germany and looking for a good PayPal alternative. I mainly need it for:
- Sending money to friends
- Paying online, especially to small vendors
- Ordering food and everyday purchases
I've heard about Bunq, Klarna, Revolut, and N26, but I'm not sure which one would be best for my needs. Has anyone had experience with these services in Germany? Which would you recommend and why?
Thanks in advance!
I'd avoid Klarna if you're opposed to all humans getting automated.
They rely heavily on OpenAi.
This year the PayPal alternative Bluecode is supposed to launch! I'm keeping an eye on that. Otherwise I do a lot of payments by prepayment or (advance) invoice. So it just goes through my bank account directly.
German? Legal disclaimer says switzerland? Cool too though, didn't know them, thanks for the tip!
Oh really, sorry than I was informed wrong on my side, I will edit my comment. Thanks for pointing it out.
Don't know how many banks have implemented this already cause it's kinda brand new, but Europe has made its very own PayPal: https://wero-wallet.eu/
I think it's main use is to send money quickly between friends and family,.don't know if payments are also intended later. But the good news is it's all European, no evil company in the background, only the banks you're already a customer of anyway.
Thanks for suggesting Wero! I tried it out, but unfortunately, they're incompatible with my bank (Deutsche Bank). It does seem super cool, though! I'll follow their progress and hope they add support soon. I appreciate the recommendation.
Everyone that uses Deutsche Bank needs to learn what they’ve done https://youtu.be/ZlIagcttGY0
Apparently they plan to add support for it this year: https://www.db.com/news/detail/20241122-european-digital-payments-app-wero-now-available-for-postbank-customers?language_id=3
There is quite a consensus that c24 is the best bank. You get virtual cards for online pay and can send instant transfers for free.
There base model which is totally sufficient is free.
You can do all of that with a normal bank account in Europe.
Vendors will accept debit cards and there's a thing called SEPA Instant Payments.
You do not need 'a PayPal'.
Thrat being said, I keep my 'main bank account' separate from my 'spending bank account' for which I use Revolut.
Debit cards and Revolut use the Visa/MC networks, which are US-based. Revolut even uses Visa for peer-to-peer transactions.
Well, as mentioned. Use your normal bank account.
To the best of my knowledgeable, there no 'pan-European payment system which would replace credit/debit cards'.
For online payments, you can use SEPA Instant Payments or somple bank account transfers. There's also Gyropay, but only for Germany.
If you want to pay for your out-of-pocket vegetables and other small expenses IRL, cash is your only other option.
Some bank also give ability to use "virtual card". You select an amount, add a time frame and it will create a virtual card to use.
I'm looking for a PayPal (ethical) alternative in the UK/england, if anyone knows of one. My usage, aside from payments to retailers (which isn't strictly necessary) is mainly a convenient way to send/receive small amounts of money from people in the UK but also internationally, mainly Australia and Canada.
In Poland we have instant payments called Blik! Go check it out.
Paying online, especially to small vendors
What I have recently been fond of is paying by invoice. I will pay only once I open the package and find the invoice inside via bank transfer. Zero American companies (Paypal, Visa, Mastercard...) are involved this way.
The only drawback is that you have to remember paying and that some online stores - though usually the larger one's - don't support it.
Invoice is great, but here (Germany) it's rarely an option in b2c. Some shops do if you spend A LOT or very frequent. if at all, for first-time customers.
Eh, try smaller shops.
For example, all local book shops around my area with an online presence - except for thalia but they're not locally owned - support paying through invoice.
I haven't had any negative experience yet, although admittedly, my sample size is limited to three since I only started doing it recently. That might be because my orders were relatively small in price though.
I haven't used any yet and still have PayPal, but would also be interested in migrating to a European one.
Some possible options may be Skrill or Wise? I believe both are based in the UK and available internationally.
Wise processes through Visa, a US company. That makes them as "EU alternative" as your bank's card.
Wait, how do SEPA transfers go through Visa? Do you just mean the card payments?
Welcome to Lemmy, here are a few pointers to help you settle in
N26 reminds me of N64 so i should go with that one.
You literally introduced me to all of these things....
Unfortunately, during my research, it seems like N26 is the worst option. Not only is it supported/funded by Peter Thiel and other American oligarchs, and it has a shady history Source (in German)
Okay so that's a terrible way to make a decision then