The best credit card app? Credit cards have to be one thing above all else: Uncomplicated! When you pay with a credit card, you want to pay quickly. But what’s the best app? Which credit card provider is the best? And most importantly, which credit card costs nothing? We’ve tested over 10+ apps for you, from sign-up, to credit card, to cash withdrawal, to money transfer. Here’s our top 6: tomorrow, N26, Revolut, monese, nuri and bunq. Our test winners.
Shopping in Berlin, the flight to London for Fashion Week, or even a quick payment in the online store for new fashion: nothing works without a credit card. Since we travel a lot with our editorial team, we have of course downloaded and installed almost all credit card apps and tested some of them in detail, because we still use them ourselves. For example, bunq, N26, monese, Revolut, but also tomorrow and nuri. Here we present all the individual credit card apps and our recommendations.
Tip! After the introduction and the comparison, we have some common questions and answers for you.
Advantages of a credit card: overview
How useful is a credit card?
Credit cards at a glance: Advantages
Cashless payment worldwide
Contactless payment (card or NFC)
Cashless purchases and bill payments
Withdraw cash from ATMs
Also available without Schufa check
Functions and costs of a credit card
When you’re picking out a credit card, there are a few things you should look for.
What to look for in a credit card?
These functions are important:
Free account management
Check NFC availability
IBAN included
Make transfers free of charge
Withdraw cash free of charge
In our list: Debit credit cards only (better!)
But it gets even better with debit credit cards, which we recommend here! Because with “normal” credit cards you have a few disadvantages. For example, you often pay an annual fee or even commission, for each transaction. Don’t worry, not with our credit card tip (below).
Another great advantage of debit credit cards, you can only spend credit. So you don’t automatically slip into the negative and into an “overdraft trap”).
Advantages of debit credit cards at a glance:
You can only spend credits
No fees and commissions
No automatic overdraft facility (minus amount / credit)
Login in the apps: Time
Logging in to all apps is super fast.
How long does it take to register?
Download the app of your choice, log in and then make the approx. 3 minute video call for verification. You will be connected to a member of staff (directly via cell phone), where you only have to identify yourself once. It’s best to have your ID card ready!
My last credit card application took 4 minutes, in the middle of downtown Palma de Mallorca. All you need is cell phone network and your ID card.
Now have fun downloading and shopping!
Pay free of charge anytime and anywhere:
Credit card recommendations: Top 6 Apps
Here is our top 5 debit credit cards with good app. PS: We have installed all of them ourselves and have been using some like N26 for over 3 years.
Tomorrow App – Our test winner
Why is the tomorrow app and testiseger? We have installed several apps for over 2 years and are absolutely satisfied. But with tomorrow, the community is happy too! A full 4.9 out of 5.0 stars in the rating.
tomorrow has all the advantages we had discussed in advance. Free account management, free payment worldwide, even cash pickup, transfer, all free. Registration takes only 5 minutes, including verification. After that you have credit card, account details and even your own IBAN. With NFC, you can also play the credit card on your phone (Google Pay or Apple Pay) and you’re good to go!
Credit card, rating and download
Much more important than our opinion is the opinion of the community. What do users of the tomorrow app have to say?
Rated with 4.9 / 5 stars
The app was rated by over 10,000+ users. Here you will find all the important links to download for your smartphone, from Samsung to iPhone in the PlayStore and the App Store.
Advantages of tomorrow
TOMORROW offers you:
Free account management
Check NFC availability
IBAN included
Make transfers free of charge
Withdraw cash free of charge
Monese app
Once again, an app that we have been using ourselves for over a year, monese. So far, it has always been stable in all functions and therefore deserves to be recommended. However, the community’s opinion drifts apart a bit. Android users rate the app below 4 stars, but among iOS users, the app is at 4.7 out of 5.0 stars.
Also super reviews, also installed for over 2 years with us, the app from N26. The company itself is from Germany and therefore an interesting alternative if you are looking for a German IBAN. The other card providers issue IBANs from other European countries. N26, also a recommendation from our editorial team.
Credit card, rating and download
What does the community say about the N26 app in the Store?
Rated with 4.8 / 5 stars
N26 was rated in the store by 110,000+ users. A really good result.
The bunq app itself has only 3.4 out of 5.0 stars in the store. We ourselves have installed the app for over 18 months now and are very satisfied with all the functions. Credit card, transfers, cashless payment. Therefore also in our recommendations, also with 3.4 stars.
Get the bunq app with credit card and bank account here:
Our ranking: recommendation from experience – Important, we have paid extra attention in our list that all cards are free of charge, including account management and cash withdrawal (usually 3 per month). All can be easily connected to your smartphone (NFC and with apps like Apple Pay, GooglePay). You get an account with IBAN, where they can transfer money to you and of course, besides your virtual card, on your phone, you also get a physical credit card, to pay when shopping in the city, at the airport and so on.
FAQ credit card: the most important questions
With our credit card recommendations, you’re sure to find a good option for you! If you have more general questions, you can find the answers to the most frequently asked questions here!
What was also very important to us for the recommendations, all credit card offers are without automatic overdraft. Simply put, this means you can only spend what you have (no overdraft debt trap). If you want to learn more about overdraft, scroll down a little further!
How useful is a credit card?
As long as you shop at home in the supermarket, you probably don’t need a credit card and the normal bank card of your house bank is enough for you.
But as soon as you want to shop online or travel abroad, a credit card is super handy! Behind it are payment providers like Visa and Mastercard, which you’ve probably heard of. They make it easy to pay in online stores, at the card reader at Starbucks, just about anywhere! So the payment providers (Mastercard, Visa, etc.) take care of the transactions.
Here again the advantages at a glance:
Cashless payment worldwide
Contactless payment (card or NFC)
Cashless purchases and bill payments
Withdraw cash from ATMs
Also available without Schufa check
Where can I get a credit card?
You can either get credit cards from Mastercard and Visa themselves or you can turn to one of the numerous credit card providers. These include, for example, your bank, whether it’s a credit union, savings bank or other private bank. Credit card providers also include numerous apps, such as TOMORROW, N26, bunq and others, which you can easily download from the App Store or Play Store. It only takes five minutes to register and you’re ready to go!
What does debit credit card mean?
A debit credit card works on the prepaid system. This means that you can only spend what you have deposited. So only what you have in your account as a credit.
A great advantage! So you do not automatically slip into the Dispo (minus amount). Because, so a Dispo is quickly expensive, the interest rates are much higher than with a normal loan.
Of course, such a Dispo sounds great at first, after all, you have 1,000, 2,000 or even 10,000 euros more available than you actually have. In the end, however, you incur debts! You also pay interest on the debt. That’s why you should look for a credit card that won’t let you slip into overdraft.
What does Dispo mean?
Banks always sell you the “Dispo” as a kind of reserve!
If you run short of money at the end of the month, you still have the overdraft facility as a buffer. In fact, however, you go into the red and take out a loan with the bank, so to speak. Of course, you have to pay back this loan. As long as it is open, you pay relatively high interest.
Average interest rate for overdraft facility:
Dispo interest depending on bank: 6-16%.
So if you are 1,000 euros in the red for 3 months (time), you pay an extra 37.50 euros at 15% interest. You can also turn the example around and say you are in the red for 1,000 euros every month for 1 week.
So if a credit card has an overdraft amount (which normal credit cards do), you can slip into the negative so quickly unknowingly, after all, you don’t get a message that your balance is empty. A plane ticket paid for, a new pair of shoes, and you’re already in the red.
That’s why our tip is, use a debit credit card!
Are debit credit cards accepted everywhere?
Yes, debit credit cards are accepted worldwide. Behind them are the same payment providers, mostly Mastercard and Visa. The only difference between credit card and debit credit card is that with debit credit cards only credit can be spent. Here there is no automatic overdraft (Dispo).
How to recognize a debit credit card?
There is no difference with a regular credit card. The chip card has the same format, you have the same information, card number, CVV/CVC, expiration date. So to determine the difference and recognize a debit credit card, you need to know the numerous providers, e.g. monese, tomorrow, N26, etc., from our recommendation list.
No difference
Same card size, information
In principle, the difference does not matter, if the account is sufficiently funded at the time of payment, the transaction will be carried out. If there is not enough funds, the transaction will not be carried out.
In the supermarket and at the gas station, no one can tell if you are a debit card holder or if you have a regular credit card with an overdraft limit.
Credit card without Schufa information?
Briefly, what is a Schufa report? The Schufa report provides information about the creditworthiness of a person. For any form of financing, loans, but also for bank accounts, such information on creditworthiness is retrieved. In Germany, there is a central office that collects the information, the so-called Schufa.
Even with credit cards, information is requested, because behind the debit credit card offers are often banks, for example, the Santander Bank. The big advantage of debit credit cards is that you can not slip into the negative, so you do not take out a loan with the bank, which you would have to pay back. So you can open an account even with a bad credit rating.
How much does a credit card cost?
A credit card should cost nothing!
For normal, private use, you should definitely not have to pay anything for a credit card. Good credit card providers also offer free cash withdrawals, of course with an extra physical card, and all transfers are free as well.
Debit credit card providers usually only incur costs when you open a second account or apply for a second card.
Are there also disadvantages of credit cards?
So that we list not only advantages, but also disadvantages, here is an overview:
Not all stores accept credit cards
If your card is stolen, thieves can go shopping with your card
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