HYPE

Banca Sella brand. Italian IBAN. FITD follows Sella. illimity sold its 50% in 2025.

NeobankactiveItaly

Tap a star to jump to reviews

7.1Solid
Alternatives

Five questions

At a glance

  • Is it a bank?

    No. HYPE is not a bank. Your money sits with Banca Sella S.p.A..

  • If it fails?

    FITD up to €100,000 — HYPE is a Banca Sella brand, so do not double-count the cap with other Sella deposits

  • Salary?

    Not listed. An IBAN or sort code is not automatically a salary account.

  • Open from abroad?

    Residency and KYC are gated. An App Store listing is not proof you can onboard.

  • Monthly fee

    Free SKU plus paid plans — confirm live

  • Account number

    IBAN is part of the pitch — issuing country not stored.

NeoBankDB Verdict

Licence first · score second

7.1

/10 · Solid

HYPE is a Banca Sella brand. Banca Sella bought illimity’s 50% in November 2025 and set a merger-by-incorporation for March 2026. The IBAN and FITD follow Sella, not a startup charter. If you already hold Sella, this is not a second €100k pot. isybank is Intesa. Different groups. Different caps.

What it is

Launched 2015 as a prepaid-to-account story, later a 50/50 Sella–illimity JV. 2025 ended the JV. Directories still sell ‘Italian neobank’. This desk sells Banca Sella in a blue coat. The Play package for business is it.hype.business — same group.

Best for: Italy residents who want a Sella IBAN in a blue app and do not already sit at Sella for the cap.

Last checked 2026-08-30. Not advice.

What it does well

  • +Named Italian bank behind the brand
  • +FITD
  • +Scale
  • +Not a Lithuanian EMI

What to watch

  • −Shared FITD cap with Sella
  • −Merger into Sella is the 2026 story
  • −Italy-resident
  • −Paid plans for the useful bits

Who holds the money

The account

Partner bank
Banca Sella S.p.A.

How money actually moves

Who holds the cash
Issued / held via Banca Sella S.p.A.
How money moves
IBAN / SEPA
Built for
Personal
Settlement
Local rails instant where live; SWIFT slower
Freeze risk
Fintech reviews can pause inbound while they check a transfer
Card
HYPE lists a physical card and a virtual card on mastercard, plus Apple Pay and Google Pay. Confirm the live product in the app — a card is not a current account.

Licence first

Safety

FITD up to €100,000 — HYPE is a Banca Sella brand, so do not double-count the cap with other Sella deposits

Who holds the money: Banca Sella S.p.A.

  • Banca d’Italia / ECB (via Banca Sella)Commercial brand of Banca Sella — FITD group · Italy

Fees

Monthly
Free SKU plus paid plans — confirm live
FX markup
Plan-gated, not Wise
ATM
Fair-use then network

Features

  • ✓IBAN
  • ✓Fee-free core
  • –Multi-currency
  • ✓Apple Pay
  • ✓Google Pay
  • ✓Virtual card
  • ✓Physical card
  • –Metal card
  • –Crypto
  • –Stocks
  • –Business
  • –Kids
  • –Halal
  • Italian IBAN (Sella)
  • App current account
  • Paid plans
  • FITD via Sella
  • Sella-group merger path

Score

Safety25%
8.2
Fees20%
7.4
Features15%
7.2
App15%
8.0
Global15%
4.0
Support10%
6.6

Change log

Full log
  1. Status

    illimity sold its 50% of HYPE

    Banca Sella remains the FITD holder. Merger-by-incorporation story into 2026 — confirm the live brand on the IBAN.

Available in

Straight answers

FAQ

01

Is HYPE a bank?

HYPE is not a licensed deposit-taker in the classic sense. Money, if any, sits with Banca Sella S.p.A..

02

How is money protected?

FITD up to €100,000 — HYPE is a Banca Sella brand, so do not double-count the cap with other Sella deposits

03

Where is HYPE available?

We list 1 market on NeoBankDB. Residency and onboarding rules still sit with HYPE.

04

Card and wallets?

HYPE lists a physical card and a virtual card on mastercard, plus Apple Pay and Google Pay. Confirm the live product in the app — a card is not a current account.

05

Can I open HYPE remotely?

Residency and KYC are gated. An App Store listing is not proof you can onboard from your country.

Ratings and reviews

No published user reviews yet. The NeoBankDB score still comes from licence, fees, and the product — not from an empty star average.

Rate & review

Used HYPE?

Stars plus a short note. We publish after a NeoBankDB read. “Verified user” is our tick, not yours.

Your rating

Alternatives