Which neobank to choose between Shine and N26 Business?

Our opinion on Shine vs N26 Business in brief

Shine and N26 Shine is more suitable if you're looking for a high-performance billing tool. N26, on the other hand, offers real advantages for workers who travel a lot and are looking for a free account.

If, on the other hand, you're looking for a neobank that better supports the financial needs of very small businesses, Hero is the perfect choice.

Introducing Shine

Shine was founded in 2017 and quickly gained notoriety. They quickly reached 100,000 customers.

Shine's history and mission

Shine was born from the Nicolas Reboud meets Raphaël Simon One was a company director, the other a freelancer. administrative difficulties in their respective businesses. In fact, the formalities associated with accounting and legal formalities seemed time-consuming and detrimental to their productivity.

That's how they came up with the idea of creating a a tool designed to ease the burden on self-employed The aim? Free up time to focus on their core business. Shine was born.

Initially, the services offered were aimed exclusively at self-employed workers and freelancers. Gradually, however, the neobank broadened its offer to cater for companies of all sizes.

Shine's main features

Here are the main features of Shine :

• A 100% online pro account. To create your account, you don't need to go anywhere. It's all done online. Simply upload the supporting documents required by the platform, and in just a few clicks your pro account is created.

  Likewise, all your banking transactions are carried out directly via the Shine application. You can monitor your account in real time.

• Cash deposits. All you have to do is go to the tobacconists approved by the platform to make your deposit.

• Features dedicated to accounting management scan receipts, manage expense reports, automate exports, set reminders times

• Functions for invoicing and quotations. The tool offers ready-to-use invoices and quotes. All you have to do is personalize them before sending them to your customers.

• Integration with accounting tools like Sellsy or QuickBooks

• Capital deposit online.

Shine rates and offers

Shine offers a pricing system to suit all needs and budgets:

Shine Basic offer

Available at 7.90 euros per month, this is Shine's entry-level offer.

Here are the services included:

• A Mastercard Basic bank card

• 30 free transfers and direct debits per month

• A billing tool

The Shine Plus offer

The Shine Plus offer is available at €14.90 per month.

Here are the services included:

• 60 free transfers and direct debits per month

• A main account and a sub-account

• A monthly cash deposit limit of 500 euros

• 20 virtual cards

• 2 cheque deposits per month

• Legal assistance

The Shine offer Pro

Available for 29 euros a month, this is the most comprehensive offer from the Shine neobank.

Here are the services we offer:

• One main account and 4 sub-accounts

• 60 free transfers and direct debits

• Free cash deposits of up to 500 euros

• 20 virtual cards

• Free cheque deposits per month

• Insurance and legal assistance

• Une carte Mastercard Business World Debit

Introducing N26 Business

N26 is a neobank of German origin . Here's everything you need to know about your pro account.

N26 history and mission

N26 was created in 2013 by Valentin Stalf and Maximilian Tayenthal, then launched on the market in 2015. It now boasts almost 7 million users including 2 million in France.

The neobank has no physical branch. Account creation and management are therefore entirely online. It takes just 8 minutes to create your pro account. completely free of charge and no minimum deposit is required to open an account.

For your everyday transactions, you use the N26 mobile application.

The main features of N26 Business

Here are the main features of N26:

• Mastercard bank card

• Free foreign currency withdrawals and payments

• Customer service available 24/7 in French

• Various insurances and warranties

• Accounting management functions

• Deposit, data and transaction security.

N26 Business rates and offers

Here are the pro account offers available at N26:

The 26 Standard offer

Free of charge, it offers the following features

• Standard bank card

• 3 free withdrawals per month. A commission of 2 euros is charged above this threshold.

• 1.7% commission on foreign currency withdrawals

• No physical card

The N26 Smart offer

Available at 4.90 euros per month This offer includes the features of the N23 Standard offer. However, it entitles you to a physical N26 World Mastercard and 5 free withdrawals.

The N26 You offer

It costs 9.90 euros per month . However, with the N26 You offer, foreign currency withdrawals are free and you are entitled to a personalized N26 World Mastercard. You are also entitled to insurance services.

The N26 Metal offer

The Premium offer from N26 available at 16.90 euros per month . It includes all the benefits of N26 You, plus premium customer support and the advantages of the Mastercard World Elite card.

It also entitles you to 8 free withdrawals per month.

Feature comparison between N26 Business and Shine

Here's a comparison of N26 and Shine from the point of view of the features offered by each.

Account management

As these are online banks, account management is carried out entirely via the application, so the quality of the user experience depends largely on ease of use and ergonomics of both applications. However, both have positive comments on this point on review sites.

Shine, however, seems to be slightly more interesting because of more advanced accounting and billing functionalities.

Additional services

N26 offers a comprehensive insurance package designed to protect users abroad:

• Coverage of up to 500 euros for flight delays

• Luggage insurance up to 500 euros

• Trip cancellation/change insurance

• Medical coverage

Shine also offers :

• Legal assistance

• Computer breakage or theft insurance

• Accident coverage and mobile screen insurance

Ease of use and user interface

Shine users are almost unanimously convinced that the ease of use of its application . Indeed, this is one of its strong points, alongside the quality of its customer support.

N26 is not to be outdone, as it also offers an application with a modern, ergonomic interface.

Price comparison

After a comparison based on features, let's move on to a comparison based on price.

Shine subscriptions

The Shine offer is available from 7.90 euros. The neobank offers no free account. What's more, this entry-level package offers limited functionality, suitable only for the self-employed whose banking needs are equally limited.

N26 Business subscriptions

N26 has the advantage of offering a free account. It is therefore obvious that it offers limited functionality.

Value for money

Both neobanks seem to offer good value for money given their range and affordable rates.

Customer support and user reviews

Since these are online banks, the quality of customer support is of paramount importance. a guarantee of a minimum of human interaction . This is why customer support is a criterion to be taken seriously before choosing a neobank. .

The quality of Shine's customer support

The quality of its customer support is, without doubt one of Shine's greatest strengths. In fact, they won the Customer Support of the Year award for 2024.

The quality of N26 Business customer support

N26 customer support can be reached at by phone, email, livechat and social networks.

User feedback

Shine users highlight the quality of customer support, the attractive rates and the ergonomics of the application . It's fair to say that, on the whole, neobank users seem to be won over by the quality of service on offer.

For its part, N26 also appears to be satisfactory for its users. . Customer feedback is generally positive. In particular, they highlight simple account management, attractive rates and accessible customer service.

The advantages and disadvantages of both solutions

Here is a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of the two digital banks:

The benefits of Shine

Shine offers a number of advantages, including :

• An ergonomic, modern and easy-to-use interface

• Excellent value for money

• Integration with the most common accounting tools

• Cash deposits. This feature is a real plus for Shine, as few digital banks offer it.

• Unlimited SEPA transfers

• SWIFT transfers via Wise

Shine's drawbacks

Shine also has a number of drawbacks:

• The impossibility of making SWIFT transfers

• Customer support only available by email

• These offers are unsuitable for companies or freelancers with foreign customers, as all transactions carried out outside the SEPA zone are subject to a fee.

• No deferred debit

• Un IBAN allemand

The benefits of N26 Business

Here are the main advantages of N26:

• Attractive costs

• A free offer

• An instant transaction system. You receive real-time notifications of all transactions made on your account.

• Transaction security. Online transactions inevitably raise the question of security. N26 offers enhanced security for its users' personal data and transactions. In fact, the neobank has been placed under the supervision of a German regulator.

  In addition, the solution applies a validation system to control online transactions in real time.

  In addition, deposited funds are guaranteed up to 100,000 euros by the German Fund for the Protection and Guarantee of Deposited Funds.

• Free withdrawals and payments outside the euro zone. This makes N26 ideal for professionals with customers abroad. What's more, the German digital bank also offers a range of assistance and insurance services designed to protect its users when traveling abroad.

• Cashback of 0.1%. As soon as you make a payment with your bank card, 0.1% of the amount spent is transferred to your current account.

• A welcome offer of 30 euros on account opening.

• Features to facilitate accounting management (real-time balance updates, sub-account creation, expense categorization, etc.).

Disadvantages of N26 Business

N26 also has a number of disadvantages:

• Possibilité account opening limited to countries where the bank operates

• No overdraft authorized

• Un maximum of 8 withdrawals free per month, depending on the offer taken out. Beyond the authorized threshold, a commission of 2 euros per withdrawal is charged by the digital bank.

• No cash deposit

Which solution to choose?

Given everything we've seen about the two digital banks, we can distinguish which is more suitable for freelancers and which for businesses.

For freelancers and self-employed workers

Shine has been specifically designed to meet to the needs of freelancers and independent workers. What's more, its affordable rates make it a real winner. adapted to the budgets of self-employed workers.

However, if you frequently travel outside the euro zone, N26 Business will be more appropriate. Transactions are free of charge with the German digital bank. What's more, N26's free account can be a godsend for freelancers.

For VSEs and SMEs

Although originally created to meet the specific needs of freelancers and self-employed workers, Shine has adapted its offer to meet the needs of small and medium-sized businesses. . Its advanced billing and These accounting features are a real plus in its favor.

Conclusion

N26 and Shine are two neobanks with interesting comparative advantages, but neither offers a financing or overdraft solution for businesses. And yet, such features are vital for small businesses with cash-flow problems. .

What's the alternative to Shine and N26 Business?

logo-hero

Hero was originally a payment service provider launched in 2021 . Its main raison d'être was to make factoring more accessible to small businesses . Hero's services are particularly aimed at B2B SMEs.

As a reminder, factoring is a mechanism a financial arrangement whereby companies assign their unpaid invoices to a factor, who then pays them. Such a mechanism enables companies to protect themselves against non-payment and strengthen their cash position.

Hero's offer is :

• A free pro account with physical and digital bank cards and a deferred payment option

• An online payment solution at unbeatable prices

• Flexible, no-obligation financing solutions (BNPL in B2B, accelerated payment on marketplaces (Amazon...), receivables and debt financing)

In a nutshell Shine and N26 are two neobanks that offer real advantages to freelancers and businesses alike, but have some major shortcomings, notably in that they don't offer overdraft or business financing solutions. If you're looking for a neobank that's committed to protecting the cash flow of small and medium-sized businesses, Hero is the way to go.