Country desks
Markets
Each desk names the regulator and the deposit scheme before it lists apps. That is the whole product.
ID · IDR
Indonesia
Jago, Blu by BCA, SeaBank, and Krom are the digital-bank layer on top of GoPay / OVO / DANA wallets. Super-apps own distribution. OJK digital-bank rules tightened after the first wave. Krom in particular is a name people search and older directories mishandle. We list licence class and whether the product is a bank account or a wallet.
5 live on the desk
PH · PHP
Philippines
UNO, Maya, GCash, and Tonik are the names. E-wallets dwarf classic current accounts. BSP distinguishes banks, e-money issuers, and VASPs. PDIC is for banks. GCash-scale wallets are EMI products with a different recovery story. This page labels the licence so “Uno Bank” searchers (a top Neobanque query) get a real review, not a scraped App Store blurb.
6 live on the desk
BR · BRL
Brazil
Nubank is not a challenger anymore — it is one of the largest digital banks on earth, listed in New York, with 100 million-plus customers across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Inter, C6, PicPay, and Mercado Pago fill the rest of the slot. PIX is the rail. FGC membership is the safety line. If you are comparing “best neobank in Brazil,” start with Nubank and then decide whether you need a second account for credit or brokerage.
6 live on the desk
FR · EUR
France
France mixed bank-owned digital brands (Hello bank!, Boursorama) with independents (Nickel, Qonto, Lydia, Revolut). Qonto is the business account default for many SAS/SARL companies. Deblock is the crypto-neobank story. FGDR protection requires a credit institution, not an EMI. We separate those.
16 live on the desk
CH · CHF
Switzerland
Switzerland is where this industry’s graveyard is loudest in 2025–2026: Swiss4, FlowBank, radicant, Coop Finance+. FINMA does not play. The survivors (Alpian, Yuh, neon, Revolut as a foreign EMI passporting in, Swissquote as a bank/broker) are the list that matters. A FINMA banking licence is rare. Securities-dealer and fintech licences are not the same thing. This page is deliberately small.
6 live on the desk
DE · EUR
Germany
N26 is the German neobank the rest of Europe copied. Trade Republic, Tomorrow, and Vivid sit nearby. BaFin has a long memory for AML failures — N26’s onboarding freezes are part of that history. SEPA IBAN, Girocard vs Mastercard, and whether the deposit sits at a German bank or a foreign branch decide protection. We list the account-holding entity.
14 live on the desk
SG · SGD
Singapore
Singapore is the HQ city for Airwallex and a launch market for Revolut, Wise, and Aspire. MAS digital bank licences (Grab-Singtel, GXS, MariBank, ANEXT, Green Link) are a different set from the global apps. This page mixes both so a founder searching “business account Singapore” sees the actual menu: local digital banks versus global multi-currency platforms. SDIC protection only applies to member banks, not to EMI wallets.
16 live on the desk
AE · AED
United Arab Emirates
The UAE is a hub for business neobanks, crypto cards, and multi-currency wallets aimed at residents, founders, and visitors. Aspire, Airwallex, and RedotPay-class products show up because company formation in the Emirates is easy and the card question is “will this work at Carrefour and on Amazon.ae.” Free-zone licences (DFSA, FSRA) are not the same as an onshore CBUAE bank licence. We label the entity.
15 live on the desk
NG · NGN
Nigeria
Nigeria is a mobile-money super-app market. Kuda, OPay, and PalmPay-class products compete on free transfers, cards, and agency networks — not on marble branches. CBN licensing (commercial bank, MMO, PSP) is the split that matters. Dollar cards and “blocked US services” are the consumer pain this market actually searches. We list licence type, card network, and whether USD / virtual cards are still issuing.
9 live on the desk
CA · CAD
Canada
Canada’s digital banks sit in the shadow of the Big Five. Neo Financial is the consumer brand people mean when they say “Canadian neobank.” Tangerine is Scotiabank’s digital bank — real CDIC member, not a startup. EQ Bank is another. Motus Bank closed in 2025 and was folded back into Meridian Credit Union, which is why it lives in the graveyard, not this list. Wise and Wealthsimple sit adjacent. Always check CDIC membership; a prepaid card is not a deposit.
9 live on the desk
AU · AUD
Australia
Australia’s digital-bank wave was real and then it thinned out. Up remains the consumer standout. Revolut holds an Australian credit licence and an ADI path that you must verify per product. Archa is a business credit-card and spend platform, not a deposit-taking bank — no personal guarantee is the pitch, Mastercard is the rail. Spriggy is the kids prepaid leader. Airwallex (Singapore-headquartered) is the cross-border business account many Australian companies actually use. Hay, Douugh, and Volt-era brands show up in older directories; several are gone or absorbed. This page only lists what is operating in 2026, with the licence type on the card.
17 live on the desk
GB · GBP
United Kingdom
The UK is the original challenger-bank market. Monzo, Starling, and Chase UK hold full UK bank licences, so eligible deposits are FSCS protected. Revolut spent years as an e-money institution and now operates a UK bank for eligible customers — the distinction still matters for the product you actually open. EMI wallets (Wise personal, many crypto cards) are safeguarded, not FSCS insured. If the copy says “protected” without naming FSCS or the authorised firm, treat it as marketing.
25 live on the desk
US · USD
United States
Most US “neobanks” are fintechs with a partner bank. Chime is not a bank — Bancorp and Stride are. Cash App is not a bank — Sutton Bank and Lincoln Savings are. That distinction is the highest-intent query cluster in US digital banking, and it is also the safety question that matters. FDIC pass-through insurance only works if the partner is an insured bank and the records are in order (Synapse showed what happens when they are not). This country page separates chartered digital banks (SoFi Bank, Varo Bank, Ally) from partner-bank fintechs, and flags crypto platforms that are broker-dealers, not banks.
34 live on the desk
IN · INR
India
India is one of the densest digital-finance markets on earth. UPI made account-to-account payments free and instant, so the neobanks that survive here win on credit, metal cards, US investing, and UX — not on transfers. RBI does not issue a generic “neobank licence.” Most consumer apps are either scheduled banks (Fi via Federal Bank / Axis-era partners, Jupiter via Federal Bank) or NBFCs with a partner bank. That partner-bank name is the question Indian users actually search. This register lists who holds the money, what the card network is, and which apps are still taking new customers in 2026.
16 live on the desk
ES · EUR
Spain
Spain’s digital layer is mostly bank-owned (Abanca, B100, Openbank, imagin) plus Catalan community fintechs. B100 is a commercial brand of Abanca — same IBAN, same FGD, do not double-count the cap. A Banco de España credit institution is FGD-protected. A PSD2 wallet that shows a European IBAN is not. This desk names the entity, not the app icon.
3 live on the desk
PT · EUR
Portugal
ActivoBank is Millennium BCP’s digital brand — same group, same deposit-cap maths. Revolut and Wise sit beside it as EEA / EMI products. Do not double-count ActivoBank and Millennium as two FGD pots.
1 live on the desk
MY · MYR
Malaysia
BNM licensed a handful of digital banks. AEON Bank is the Islamic digital-bank name people search. Be U is Bank Islam’s digital brand — PIDM follows Bank Islam, and the app is migrating into BIMB Mobile. PIDM membership is the safety line, not the word ‘digital’.
2 live on the desk
GH · GHS
Ghana
Affinity is a digital Savings-and-Loans franchise, not a universal bank. Mobile money (MTN, Vodafone) is the rail most Ghanaians already have. Licence class is the whole review.
1 live on the desk
BE · EUR
Belgium
Aion Bank was the digital name. UniCredit bought it in March 2025. Banx, the Proximus + Belfius app, was discontinued in December 2024; clients were pointed at Belfius. A Belgian credit-institution IBAN is still a bank IBAN. An EMI passporting in is not.
1 live on the desk
CZ · CZK
Czechia
Air Bank is the PPF digital bank Czech residents actually use. Koruna current account, CNB licence, deposit insurance. It is not N26.
1 live on the desk
HK · HKD
Hong Kong
Eight HKMA virtual banks. Airstar (Xiaomi) and Ant Bank (Ant International) are the two on this desk from that licence class. DPS is for banks, not stored-value facilities.
3 live on the desk
FI · EUR
Finland
Aktia is a listed Finnish bank with a digital skin, not a startup EMI. OP and Nordea still dominate. Score Aktia as a bank.
1 live on the desk
MX · MXN
Mexico
albo is an IFPE, not a bank. Nu México converted toward a bank licence in 2026. SPEI is the rail. Do not write IPAB onto an IFPE wallet.
1 live on the desk
IT · EUR
Italy
Italy’s digital layer is mostly bank-owned. Banca Widiba is Montepaschi’s digital and advice bank — Banca d’Italia / ECB, FITD, Italian IBAN. Fineco is the other search. Revolut and N26 sit beside them as foreign IBANs. FITD is a consortium of Italian banks; the cap is per depositor per bank, and group maths still apply. An EMI IBAN that looks Italian is not FITD.
1 live on the desk
TR · TRY
Turkey
Turkish digital-bank search is full of loan shops and wallets. BankPozitif is a BDDK development and investment bank, not a travel neobank. TMSF took administration of the PayFix-era share file in 2025. Score the licence class, then the ownership mess. A BDDK bank deposit is a TMSF object. An e-money wallet is not.
1 live on the desk
UZ · UZS
Uzbekistan
AVO bank is a 2025 Tashkent charter: CBU licence no. 83 dated 28 February 2025. That is a bank. Uzbekistan introduced a statutory deposit-guarantee law in 2025. Young banks fail more often than old ones. Directories will file AVO next to Revolut because it has an app. This desk files it next to the CBU head-office list.
1 live on the desk
ZA · ZAR
South Africa
Bank Zero is a SARB mutual bank in Sandton — app-only, clearing rails, Michael Jordaan and Yatin Narsai. CODI launched in April 2024. Mutual banks, commercial banks and co-operative banks are members automatically. A wallet with a Visa sticker is not CODI. The Big Five still dominate; this page exists so a ‘SA neobank’ search lands on a licence.
1 live on the desk
DZ · DZD
Algeria
Banxy is Natixis Algérie’s mobile brand, launched 2018 as the first smartphone bank in the country. Natixis has been in Algiers since 1999; BPCE is the French parent. The app is the skin. The bank is Natixis Algérie. FGDB follows the bank. Directories that list ‘Banxy Bank’ as a separate charter are wrong.
1 live on the desk
SA · SAR
Saudi Arabia
Barq is Barraq Finance Company, a SAMA e-wallet (Decision 26/M SM/1445). Its own copy says it is not a bank account. One million users in 21 days was a launch stat. Keep salary at a SAMA bank. Use the wallet for transfers and a Visa. stc Pay is the comparable object, not Al Rajhi.
1 live on the desk
BH · BHD
Bahrain
Beyon Money is a Batelco-group fintech, not a CBB retail bank. In February 2026 KFH-Bahrain signed as primary banking partner (BaaS, Fawri+, virtual accounts). Read the footer. ila Bank is Bank ABC. Those two sentences are the Bahrain digital-bank search.
1 live on the desk
PE · PEN
Peru
B89 is a Lima fintech and Visa principal member. It is not an SBS bank. FSD does not follow a prepaid brand. The live site sells cross-border payments. Keep sol deposits at an FSD member. Directories that call B89 a neobank are selling a BIN as a charter.
1 live on the desk