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Comment by hakanensari | Hacker News Reader

Not to be dismissive, but would these challenger banks (Monzo, Revolut, N26, TransferWise) survive once the regular banks and AmEx stop adding fees on top of foreign-currency charges and withdrawals? I personally don't see any other differentiating factor, and frankly, maintaining multiple cards and having to top up, etc. are a hassle.

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I know for a fact that banks in Sweden are (and have been for a long time) adopting a very defensive position. This includes working hard to convolute legislation and introducing infrastructure that is mandatory to participate in the market, but too complex to implement/abide by for a startup, or too high cost/low value compared to the available market for an established bank.

The purpose, of course, is to keep the banks from central Europe out of Sweden, and that includes N26 et. al. They have very little interest or ability to compete with them, neither in terms of fees nor UX. Fortification and minefields are therefore the best alternatives.

A few years ago, the CEO of a (then) new investment bank famously said that they will be the last bank created in Swedish history, due to the above.

Realistically banking is a mature industry and I'd expect the banks to be much of a muchness. But currently the only way to avoid ludicrous charges on foreign currency is to switch to one of the challengers, and then once you've switched why would you switch back unless a "traditional" bank offered something that was not just the same but a substantial improvement?

> maintaining multiple cards and having to top up, etc. are a hassle.

So don't do that?

I think I still have a 'regular bank' account open, but I don't use it at all. Salary goes into Monzo, and payments go out. It's the only debit card in my wallet and that I use.

> So don't do that?

I didn't switch wholesale because I'm not fully convinced. I feel these new banks and bank-like offers will for some time search for a right fit and may change or disappear in the next few years.

Also, no-fees-abroad is a great feature, but perhaps not the 10x to spur (my) wholesale adoption.

Maybe I'm just not an early adopter (although I use them abroad, so in a way, I am).

I have a standing order that just moves £200 into Monzo every Friday for regular spending money. Makes it a lot simpler.

Innovator's Dilemma.. you get hooked on the high margin business and are afraid to disrupt yourself. Don't underestimate institutional inertia.

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