Kontist by Shine review

The monthly fee is €0 and the annual fee is €0, so holding the account is free day to day. Currency conversion is the charge to plan for, at 2%. Subaccounts are the part that needs a paid plan, so keep spending pots simple.

The German IBAN accounts are held and managed by banking partner Solaris SE, which is licensed by BaFin and the European Central Bank. Kontist itself states that it holds no banking licence, so the accounts sit with the partner rather than with the app. Deposit protection is part of the package (Automatic real time tax estimation, Receipt management and invoicing tool and Subaccounts on paid plans).

It is a debit card on the visa network, and a physical business card comes free with the account. A virtual card is available too, which suits online spending and subscriptions (virtual card and travel). Apple Pay and Google Pay are both supported (Automatic real time tax estimation, Receipt management and invoicing tool and Subaccounts on paid plans).

No. The rewards type is none, so ordinary card spending does not earn cashback or points. The perk sits in partnership discount offers instead (Automatic real time tax estimation, Receipt management and invoicing tool and Subaccounts on paid plans), and a virtual card keeps online subscriptions in a separate place (virtual card and travel).

It is built for business customers, so sole traders, freelancers and small companies are the intended users rather than people managing personal money. The tools point the same way, with automatic tax estimation and an invoicing tool included (Automatic real time tax estimation, Receipt management and invoicing tool and Subaccounts on paid plans).

Automatic real-time tax estimation runs as you spend, and a receipt management and invoicing tool sits alongside it (Automatic real time tax estimation, Receipt management and invoicing tool and Subaccounts on paid plans). There is a mobile and browser app, subaccounts on paid plans, and partnership discount offers. Apple Pay and Google Pay are both accepted (Automatic real time tax estimation, Receipt management and invoicing tool and Subaccounts on paid plans).

Support runs on email, chat and phone, so a question can go to the help centre, by email, in a live chat or by phone. The account also works in a mobile and browser app (Automatic real time tax estimation, Receipt management and invoicing tool and Subaccounts on paid plans), which is where most day to day tasks sit.

The free ATM allowance is €0, so cash machine withdrawals are not covered by the account. Cash is worth planning around, since conversion and ATM charges sit on top of the €0 monthly fee.