SweepBank Review 2023: Should You Avoid This Bank?

The emergence of digital banks has revolutionized the banking experience of the customers. It has smoothened the banking process and thus led to paramount customer satisfaction. SweepBank, with its intuitive and simplistic approach, seems to serve the same purpose.

The SweepBank is powered by the credit institution Ferratum Bank p.l.c. Ferratum Bank, a subsidiary of Multitude, is a public limited company registered under Malta laws. It is licensed and regulated by Malta Financial Services Authority. SweepBank provides a digital banking platform to the customers. It is presently operating in countries like Finland and Latvia. It will be soon starting its services in Germany.

So, let's proceed to see some of its pros and cons.

Pros

• The SweepBank app provides a Mastercard Debit Card for free, letting the customers shop online or contactless through the phone.
• It gives 0.2% interest annually on the current account.
• It offers 1% p.a. on fixed deposits for up to three years. 

Cons

• It restricts daily ATM withdrawal up to €1,000.
• The daily card purchases and online use is subject to the limit of €3,000
• Further, the ATM transactions are subject to 2%+€1/withdrawal from the fifth monthly transaction onwards.

SweepBank is powered by Ferratum Bank p.l.c., which has got its license from Malta Financial Services Authority. The deposits accepted are covered by the Maltese Depositor Compensation Scheme. The customers' funds and savings are safeguarded up to €100,000 by bank deposit protection. Further, electronic payments are secured by solid authentication such as the PIN and fingerprint.

The customers have the right to challenge any unduly charged amount on account of "direct debit" within eight weeks. Moreover, the bank is required to respond to the customers' complaints within 15 business days as per EU rules. Furthermore, the customers' personal data processing is subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the EU. The customer is entitled to initiate proceedings against the SweepBank in his domicile, the EU member state, or Malta. Thus, SweepBank seems safer and trustworthy.

The SweepBank features include:-

• SweepBank App- The bank provides its SweepBank app compatible with iOS and Android devices.
• Virtual Debit Card- The   SweepBank provides a free debit Mastercard that allows the customers to shop online or contactless with mobile phones in stores.
• Deposits Interest- The bank pays 0.2% p.a. for current account deposits up to €10,000. Further, it also offers 0.2% p.a. for savings account deposits and 1% p.a. on fixed deposits up to three years terms. The maximum deposit amount is  €100,000.
• Lending and credit services- The bank provides optional lending and credit services to its customers. Thus, it offers prime lending up to €30.000.
• Mobile Banking Orders- The customers can place credit transfer orders via the SweepBank mobile banking app to make payments to third parties.
• Direct debits- The SweepBank also provides the facility to the customers to instruct the bank for recurring fixed payments to the payee's account on specific dates.  
• SweepBank Current Account & SweepBank Savings Account- SweepBank provides its customers SweepBank Current Account, which can be used for credit payments. Further, it also offers SweepBank Savings Account and pays 0.2% p.a. interest on it.

• No Minimum balance requirement & account fees- The bank does not have any minimum balance requirement. Further, it also does not charge any monthly fee or account inactive fee.
• Card Fees- The bank does not charge any virtual account opening fee and any monthly fee. Moreover, the initial plastic card order and its monthly fee are also nil.
• ATM Withdrawals- ATM withdrawals are free for the first four transactions of the month. After that, the fee charged is 2% +1€ per withdrawal.
• Replacement of stolen card- The fee for replacing a lost or stolen card is 5 €.
• SEPA Payments- The SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) transfers and SEPA Instant do not involve any fees.

Supported cryptocurrencies include BTC, ADA, EOS, ETC, NEO, XLM, TRX, ZEC, BNB, LINK, YFI, AAVE, ALGO, MATIC, BCH, DASH, ETH, MIOTA, XRP, XTZ, LTC, COMP, UNI, DOGE, MANE, and BAT.

The customers can open SweepBank Current Account and SweepBank Savings Account. The customers can use the SweepBank Current Account to deposit funds from other banks and transfer money to own SweepBank accounts or other banks. It can be denominated only in EUR.

The SweepBank Savings Account can be opened after the successful completion of the SweepBank Current Account opening process.  The customers can deposit funds into the SweepBank Savings Account exclusively from SweepBank Current Account. The same applies to withdrawal as the customers can withdraw funds exclusively to SweepBank Current Account. Thus, it cannot be used for general payment transactions. It is also denominated in EUR.

You can follow the steps below for account opening:-

• You need to complete the onboard application for the account opening process on the SweepBank Mobile App or website, giving all the required details and documentation.
• After completing the application, you will receive the general terms and conditions along with relevant schedules. Finally, you need to agree and submit the application.
• Then, the SweepBank will carry the opening checks.
• Once the process is completed successfully, which SweepBank intimates through confirmation message, you can activate the SweepBank Current Account and SweepBank Savings Account.

You can fund the SweepBank Current Account by using the "Top Up Feature." It allows adding funds to the current account instantly through the selected card in the SweepBank Mobile App. However, the SweepBank Card cannot be used for such a top-up.

The customer can instruct the SweepBank to remit funds exclusively towards the payee's SEPA account through SEPA credit transfer. Further, the standing orders can also be made to the bank, instructing it to make recurring payments on a specific recurring date to the same payee account by SEPA credit transfers.

The customer must use the IBAN of the payee while making credit transfers in Euro currency to the SEPA destination area. Such credit transfer orders can be made to the SweepBank via its mobile app by providing the required details.

The receipt of the credit transfer order into the Sweepbank mobile banking server makes it valid. The same applies even in the case of credit transfer orders issued via payment initiation service provider. The Sweepbank then executes the credit transfer order provided sufficient credit balance is available. The payment transactions within the EEA are credited to the payee's account by the end of the next business day.  Further, for payments outside EEA, the SweepBank transmits the payment instructions to the receiving bank within one business day.

The SweepBank issues the physical and a virtual card for mobile payments after successfully completing the SweepBank Current Account opening process. The virtual or digital card is made available in the SweepBank Mobile App under the relevant section. The card can only be used during its validity period and for amounts within the prescribed limits. The customer on receipt of the physical card needs to sign it. The cardholder can also proceed with the registration to use the SweepBank Card through Apple Pay either on the SweepBank Mobile App or the Apple Pay App. Thus, it enables the cardholder to use the card for NFC (near field communication) payments in contactless mode at the enabled POS terminals of the merchants and online or in-app payments at the participating merchants.

The SweepBank digital card has got various benefits and can be used for several purposes such as:- 

• To make online payments at participating merchants.
• To make payments contactless at stores with your phone.
• It helps the customers to avoid carrying plastic cards along with them.
• To make payments at POS (point of sale) terminals equipped for contactless use.
• It allows the customers to suspend or set up spending payment limits on the cards in the SweepBank Mobile App.

 The SweepBank does not charge any fee for virtual card opening. It also does not charge any monthly fee for it.  However, the replacement of a lost or stolen card is subject to 5 €. The daily card purchases and daily online use are both subject to the limit of 3000 €. The transactions made with the card are charged to the SweepBank Current Account, and the cardholders cannot overdraw the account. The payments made in a currency other than Euro are converted into Euro. The exchange rate at the transaction time is applicable for conversion, and the cardholder bears all the charges.

Through the website of SweepBank, you are able to contact their customer support team by clicking on the menu and then clicking on Help. From there, you will be able to reach out to them through email. 

SweepBank provides an intuitive digital experience to its customers. In addition, it facilitates the customers to open a SweepBank Current Account for transfers of funds to third parties. It also offers SweepBank Savings Account to the customers and provides interest on savings account and term deposits for up to 3 years. Hence, it provides excellent services to its customers. Furthermore, you can choose to compare the services offered by SweepBank with other digital banks using our fee comparison tool.