Nuri Bank Review

⚠️ WARNING: Nuri filed for insolvency on Tuesday, August 9th, 2022. Their service was discontinued, and they no longer offer any direct support.

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This is our review of Nuri Bank: European Crossroad of Crypto and Fiat Banking.

As frequent travelers, we need to find the most optimal solutions to keep fiat money and cryptocurrencies safe and ready for convenient use. Here is our in-depth review of this solid and secure solution that keeps our fiat money and cryptocurrencies in one place.

Let's get started!

Quick Overview

Nuri, formerly Bitwala, is a German fintech bank that combines traditional banking with blockchain-based financing.

Opening a Nuri account is free of charge. Besides a Visa card that you can use in any place accepting Visa, Nuri offers services like a Bitcoin interest account, a fiat account with no maintenance fee, cryptocurrency trading, savings functionality, etc.

There is no extra fee for transactions home or abroad.

Nuri is powered by Solarisbank, a Berlin-based fintech company; therefore, it's under German (EU) law.

One of the most significant downsides is that you need to be a resident of EEA to open an account; if you fit these criteria, the rest is straightforward; you only need to be 18+, with a valid ID and residency proof.

Currently, they are limited to supporting Euro, Bitcoin, and Ethereum but are planning to add more currencies in the future.

Main features

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Nuri Bank: Account Opening

As mentioned, opening a Nuri account is very easy, like with most fintech banks. It's done entirely online with a couple of easy steps.

1. Download the app - available for android and iOS.

2. Sign up with a new account.

During the registration process, this is the data you need to have some information ready:

• information on your place of residence,
• nationality,
• tax residency,
• confirming your phone number.

3. Verify your identity

Your identity will be confirmed with ID-now - have your Passport/ID ready for this step.

The last step is to order your Nuri Visa Debit Card that will be connected to your account that you just opened. It should take about two weeks to receive your card.

Nuri Visa Card

Nuri card is a prepaid (plastic only) card that you can use for payments home and abroad. The funds go from your Euro account. If you want to source funds from a Bitcoin account, you will first need to trade Bitcoins for Euros.

More about this in the following paragraphs.

Nuri supports all contactless and online payments. Unfortunately, Apple Pay and Google Pay are not supported yet, which is quite a drawback, as most fintech's offers this option.

Nuri Bank: Wallet and Crypto Trading

You can link your Bitcoin and Ethereum wallet to your Nuri bank account. Besides storing, you can invest, receive, send, trade your cryptocurrency or Euros.

Like other wallets, you get your public and private keys.

The process of receiving and sending funds in crypto is very straightforward:

To receive - open the cryptocurrency you want to receive, click on the receive button and share the address you see there with the person who is about to send you the crypto funds.

To send - more or less the same process as the above. When you wish to send crypto funds, tap on send button under the cryptocurrency you want to send, enter the amount and the address where you want to send the funds. The additional step when sending the funds is to add the fee (using the network fee slider) for the transaction to be processed and confirm the password.

Transactions within Nuri are fast and smooth compared to other cryptocurrency exchanges, where you need to wait at least some days for your fiat money to appear in the wallet and be ready for trading.

Per our experience, the trade usually takes up to 30min to complete.

Nuri Bank: Bitcoin Interest Account via Celsius Network

Nuri Bitcoin Interest Account is another great feature that allows you to receive up to 5% interest when depositing Bitcoin.

To make this happen, Nuri is partnering with Celsius Network, a company specializing in crypto lending.

How does this work?

It's straightforward. You can deposit your Bitcoin to your interest account (the minimum investment is 10 EUR), the Celsius lends your deposited funds to investors who pay interest for borrowing the funds. There is no lock-up period, and you can withdraw your assets at any time.

The interests are paid to you weekly, on Mondays.

To use this feature, you need to navigate to the Bitcoin Wallet of the app, specify the amount, confirm it, and wait for confirmation of the transaction.

All the loans going through Celsius Network are "asset-backed"; therefore, minimal default risks.

Asset-based lending is the business of loaning money in an agreement secured by collateral. An asset-based loan or line of credit may be secured by inventory, accounts receivable, equipment, or other property owned by the borrower. Investopedia

You can calculate your possible interests using the Nuri Interest Account by following this link.

Nuri Bank: Fees

Whether you are using your Nuri Visa Card at home or abroad, transactions are without any fees. In addition, no exchange rates are being charged for foreign currencies, cash withdrawals, and any other payments.

There is no limit on the withdrawal amount, like with Revolut or Wise, where they offer up to 200 EUR with no fee per month.

With that, Nuri leveled up their game and made an excellent solution for digital nomads and travelers.

Besides no monthly fees, there is also no insurance fee.

The only fee they charge is the BTC and ETH trading fee which is 1% + fixed network fee.

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Nuri Bank: Safety

Nuri is adhering to the highest security standards, and your account balance is protected up to 100,000 EUR through the Solarisbank deposit insurance.

Solarisbank is a Berlin-based fintech company that offers a Banking-as-a-Service Platform with its German banking license.

The platform offers multi-signature keys with two-factor authentication, so your crypto trading will be secured as well.

Nuri's customer support is easy to reach via email, or you can drop them a quick message on their Facebook page. They usually respond quickly, and they are eager to help you with any inquiries you have.

You are the only one that can access your funds and perform transactions in the non-custodial wallet - vault.

Nuri Bank: Web and Mobile App

You can access Nuri via desktop or download the app. Both are easy to navigate; we prefer the mobile app as you can easily access it anytime, and it offers all the needed features.

You can see your fiat and crypto balances in both your last transactions; both offer 2-step verification.

The customer's reviews sometimes report being a bit glitchy in the peak hours, but nothing concerning. We haven't actually noticed any discrepancies on our end.

We love the clean and all you need interfaces on both web and mobile.

Nuri Bank: Is it worth it?

If you fit the criteria of being a resident of one of the EEA countries, Nuri is a good option for those who want to hold only Bitcoin or Ethereum with Euro.

With the straightforward account setup, secure and trustworthy system, and no-fee banking approach, Nuri is a great solution for those who are only stepping into the crypto world.

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