Bankily review

Holding the account is free, with a monthly fee of MRU 0. The charge worth watching is the top-up fee, since money only moves when you load the card or spend from the balance. Keep it funded and the running cost stays at nothing.

It is a prepaid card, prepaid, rather than a credit or charge card. You load money first, then spend it, and the card runs on the mastercard network, so it works in the places Mastercard is accepted, which covers most everyday shops and online checkout.

Bankily is the digital banking service of Banque Populaire de Mauritanie, a Mauritanian bank rather than a standalone app. The banking group dates back to 1998, so the app sits on an established balance sheet. That matters if you want a named institution holding your money.

Support runs on email and phone, so you reach the team by email or by phone. Live chat is not among those channels, so anything urgent means a call. If you are outside the country, allow for the time difference when you dial.

Multi-currency support is listed at multi currency, so you can hold several currency balances in the same app and pick which a payment draws from. It suits readers whose income and spending sit in different currencies.

The service is built for Mauritania, with the provider based at MR, so it is aimed at residents and local users rather than people opening an account from another country. If you need euros or sterling, bunq and Wise list their own fees of €0 and £0 instead.

On the published details, yes for the account itself, since Bankily charges a monthly fee of MRU 0. The comparison is not like for like: bunq and Varo sell in euros and dollars at a monthly fee of €0 and $0, while Wise lists £0 for a sterling account.