N26 closed my account. Here is what the letter says, and what it never will.
On Tuesday afternoon an email from N26 told me my account will close on 24 November. No reason, two months, a checklist. I run this site, so I read it the way we read every bank's terms. Here is what it says, what it does not, and what the other 36 banks in our database would have done instead.
The letter arrived at 15:12. Subject line: "Important information about your account." The first paragraph says that a routine review identified irregularities and that the account will close under paragraph 19.1 of the terms. That paragraph is N26's ordinary termination clause. It lets the bank end the relationship with two months' notice and without giving a reason. "Irregularities" is the word the template uses. It is not a finding, and nobody at N26 will tell me what it refers to. Their own support page says so: customer service cannot provide information about the background of individual terminations and cannot reverse them.
So the letter is honest in its own way. It does not pretend there is an appeal.
What the irregularity was, I can only guess. The account saw transfers to and from private individuals in a few countries, in ordinary amounts, over a couple of years. Anyone who has bought or sold stablecoins peer to peer will recognise the pattern, and so, it seems, does a compliance model. If that is what tripped it, the letter does not say, and N26 will not.
What it does spell out is the mechanics. Until 24 November the account is what N26 calls partially operational. I can send money out and pay by card. I cannot receive anything. A transfer sent to the IBAN now bounces, which matters more than the closure itself if a salary or an invoice is pointed at it. After the closure date, the app, the account and the card stop. Any balance still inside can only be paid out to a SEPA account in my name, after I send a payslip or a bank letter and copy a one-line instruction into an email. A negative balance goes to a debt collection agency five business days after closure.
Three things to do the day the letter comes, in this order. Move the balance out. Request the account data and the statement of fees, which N26 offers for six months after closure and which is faster while the account still works. Redirect anything that pays into the account. The Frozen Account Survival Kit has the longer version.
None of this is new. In 2022 a law firm in Leverkusen documented 40 German cases of N26 terminations with the same silence, and a LinkedIn post by one closed customer drew 610 comments. That was the period when BaFin had capped N26 at 50,000 new customers a month over money-laundering controls. The cap was lifted in June 2024. The letters got politer. The reason is still missing.
What the other banks do
We added a closure policy to every bank record on CBL this week, taken from each bank's own terms, and tagged it. Clear means the bank gives a reason, gives at least 60 days, and lets you withdraw during the notice period. Partial means one of those is missing or the terms do not say. Silent means the policy says no reason will be given.
Of 37 banks, one is Clear: Xapo Bank. Twenty-two are Partial, most of them because their terms are quiet about whether you can reach your money during notice. Eight are Silent, N26 among them, next to Swissquote, Bank Frick, Zand Bank and both Swiss cantonal banks we track. Six publish no policy we could find.
A few worth knowing. Wise gives a reason by category and 90 days to move money, and its acceptable-use policy names cryptocurrency trading as a ground for closure, so the reason and the activity are the same thing. Revolut gives 60 days and names the categories that trigger a review. bunq aims for two months, tells you whether it was a terms breach or a security risk, and lets you withdraw immediately in the first case. In the UK, since 28 April 2026, a bank closing a personal account must give 90 days and a written reason. German law asks that only for a basic account.
The full table is at /account-closure-policies/.
Why this sits on a crypto banking site
Because this is the moment the site exists for. A bank account is a promise that your money is yours to move, and the closure letter is where that promise gets its terms read out loud. The stablecoin cards we scored this week exist because enough people have received a letter like this one. A card is no bank, and cards get frozen too; we scored that as well. The money in a self-custodial card does, at least, not wait for a payout department.
Nothing was stuck. The balance was out within the hour, which is the one part of this that went the way the terms promise. I still do not know what the irregularity was.
See the list →Sources: N26 support, Konto durch N26 geschlossen. N26 closure notice, 22 September 2026, on file with the editor. Anwaltskanzlei Lenné on N26 terminations, April 2022. Sifted on BaFin lifting N26's growth cap. Wise help, My account is being closed by Wise. Revolut help, My account was restricted or closed. bunq help, Why was my account permanently closed. BaFin on basic payment accounts. Launchese on the UK 90-day closure rule.