How much is the neobank La Banque Postale worth?

La Banque Postale created Ma French Bank (MFB) with the aim of attracting a younger audience and attracting the most reluctant to the world of banking. Based on a 100% online ecosystem similar to neobanks, it promises an innovative banking complement in addition to traditional establishments. Despite its youth, the concept has already attracted hundreds of thousands of customers in France and has many more ambitions in the years to come. But can MFB compete with the giants in its class? Answer in this review.

Features of My French Bank

My French bank in a nutshell

Created in the course of 2019 by La Banque Postale, Ma French Banque was designed as a French alternative to the most popular neobanks like N26 or Revolut. With its 10 million customers in France, the group intends with MFB to reach a younger audience, often disconnected from the banking world, with a simple, affordable and digital-oriented offer. Today, Ma French Bank has almost 500,000 clients in France and is aiming for one million by 2025.

Very competitive rates, even for a neobank

My French Bank is not a free bank, even if the entry fee is very low: 2.90 euros per month. Inevitably, with such a price, you should not wait for an overdraft authorization, payments are systematically refused in case of lack of funds. Although traditional use is free (withdrawal, SEPA transfer, etc.), be careful with payment incidents. A direct debit rejection, for example, costs 20 euros per transaction.

We especially appreciate the fact that the bank does not charge any commission for payments and withdrawals abroad, regardless of the chosen account, even outside the Eurozone, which is rare enough to underline. It is also possible to open an account without any guarantee of income. It is therefore a very practical option to open a secondary account for this type of use.

Clearly, for such a positioning, MFB wants to get ahead of the French market, offering prices very close to, or even better than, those of N26 or Revolut, especially for the services offered. Here are the detailed prices:

How to fund your account: check, transfer, cash?

An account at Ma French Bank is opened for the first time as a secondary account, with the exception of the WeStart offer intended for young people between the ages of 12 and 17. This means that it must be financed from an external account, preferably the most regular one. It is also quite good as MFB does not aim to become a dedicated banking solution, but rather a subsidiary account. Through an external account with the same name as the MFB account, you can make regular credits (subject to a limit of 1 per day maximum). Bank transfer, single or regular, is also another way to deposit funds into your account. On the other hand, the big black point, apart from the first payment at the agency (possible at La Banque Postale), is the impossibility of supplying your account with cash or check afterwards. This is clearly a handicap since to do this you have to go through another checking account and then make a transfer from it.

Open an account with Ma French Bank

As a neobank, MFB offers to open an account from the application. The process is quite fast and within a few minutes, after providing the usual documents and filling in the usual information, the account is opened. However, its final activation requires a few additional days, the time to receive the code by mail at your address. However, opening an account is done in two ways, either online or by going to a Postal Bank window. The quickest thing is to go through a physical agency since only an identity document is enough to leave with a bank card and an open account.

When it comes to opening online, sometimes it will be necessary to be patient. Registration takes about ten minutes on the website. If your file is validated, you will receive an opening email asking you to pay 50 euros by bank transfer. Once the amount has been paid, you will receive a final email indicating that your card will be sent to you. Please wait 7-15 days to mailbox. Temporary identifiers will be sent to you via SMS, which you will need to use when syncing with the app on your smartphone.

The information requested during online registration is common to all French neobanks. Therefore, this includes a valid proof of identity (identity card, passport or residence permit), a second proof of identity (vital card, driving license, student card, etc.) and bank details in your name, a French or EU bank.

Management of initial deposits and overdrafts

Ma French Bank requires an initial deposit of 50 euros to open an account. It is possible to transfer this money from another checking account opened in your name. Too bad at this point, because other neobanks do not require an initial deposit.

It is impossible for an MFB account to end up in negative and therefore overdrawn. However, if you attempt to complete a payment transaction without having sufficient funds in your account, it will be declined.

welcome bonuses

MFB does not usually offer welcome bonuses. But it is not uncommon for the French neobank to apply certain temporary operations such as months of listing as a gift. The bank prefers to bet on its very low offer to win the acquisition.

referral bonus

It’s weird enough to underline, but MFB doesn’t offer a referral system. It’s even more unfortunate when you know how much the bank relies on word of mouth to communicate. We observe, however, that the evolution of offers and special operations is carried out quite regularly and it is not impossible that the neobank is inspired by what N26 and other Revolut offers to integrate a similar sponsorship system.

Ma French Bank insurance, offers and services

MFB accounts are linked to the VISA organization. Whatever the account, a client benefits from the organization’s insurance, particularly with regard to travel. Therefore, we have free medical repatriation in the event of an accident abroad or reimbursement of glasses in case of loss or breakage.

Recently, MFB offers the subscription to a consumer loan. “My Extra Loan”, by its name, is a revolving credit that allows you to borrow small amounts for large purchases or reimbursements. Its advantage is that it is personalized according to the client’s situation through the intervention of a bank advisor. MFB is a partner of Younited Credit for the implementation of this loan. No need to remind you that this is a service to be used sparingly.

Cashback, but exclusive for the most expensive account

Finally, MFB aligns itself with almost all other neobanks in the market and offers a system of refund of money Home. The bank has partnered with a few dozen brands of all kinds to offer cash back on purchases. This service is only available to holders of an ideal account (€6.90/month). The advantage is that there is nothing to do, it is activated by default, without additional registration.

Customer service continues to lag

Ma French Bank customer service is available first by phone. It is the preferred means of contact and the one most used by the bank, which puts as its main argument the possibility of talking by phone with a real adviser. Having tried the service at two different times of the day, it is responsive to say the least and it only took me a short wait, less than a minute, before I was able to speak to anyone. . Customer support can also be contacted in the app via a chat system. The latter is less effective since it is based on a robot with predefined answers that takes us to an advisor if the answer is not satisfactory. Finally, MFB is also very active on social networks, although this option will never be recommended for you to obtain information about your account. There is nothing better than a bank adviser to answer questions about your bank account.

No cryptocurrency

Once again, unlike the most popular neobanks, Ma French Bank does not have cryptocurrency support, not even the ability to transfer funds from dedicated platforms. Logically, since the bank is aimed at a young public, it is not in its plans to encourage its clients in risky investments.

Our opinion on the Ma French Bank mobile application

Available on iOS and Android, the Ma French Bank app aims to be simple (even simplistic) primarily with an overview of your account from the main screen. Its great advantage is that it allows you to see all the history of your operations live, when many online banks give a period of 24 hours to show the background movements. Visually, the organization of categories and tabs is also very well thought out with color-coded separation and fairly large font menus. In this way, we get the impression that everything is done to simplify navigation. We also appreciate the presence of some very practical functions such as transfers by SMS or the possibility of creating personalized jackpots with a very practical dedicated visual.

On the security side, it is possible to suspend your account at any time with a simple gesture in case of theft or loss of the card, for example. The same goes for unlocking everything.

Unfortunately, the app is not as complete as the competition can offer, especially in terms of security. Biometric authentication is not available, so you must enter your six-digit code each time you access your account information.

Overall, MFB offers a clean app, but one that is really lacking in features and customization options. We would have liked, for example, to be able to find post offices via map + GPS or the possibility of creating virtual cards for online purchases.

The only mobile payment systems that are taken into account are Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. Therefore, we were unable to test via an Android device.