Is it worth to pay 150 euro / month for Zen.com account?

[aage]

I have just signed up for an account at zen.com - business account - and found out that they charge 150 euros per month to have an account with them. That is indeed the most expensive I have ever seen!! Is it really worth the money when they are not the last option in the world for us but just a possible bank that I read about here on the forum?

 

[wellington]

Cheap compared to a swiss account.

 

[JohnLocke]

Why compare with an account in Switzerland? Where, by the way, you can get it for 20 CHF per month at least with the bank we have.

Well yes, and I would like to add that we also looked at Zen as a bank but also thought that 150 EUR per month is completely horrible if you have other options. But I would like to know if there is anyone who can argue why it has to be so expensive?

 

[Sols]

Compare the pricing from Zen to the pricing from someone else. Should be pretty simple math to figure out whether paying Zen's monthly fee and transaction fees are greater than or less than paying someone else's monthly fee and transaction fees.

With Zen, you get an account with a financial institution that's comfortable with some forms of high risk business. They also appear quite stable. Zen has access to more currencies than many EMIs, and offer pretty decent FX rates. All that is worth paying for.

How many mishaps/delays with another institution would it take for the 1,800 EUR/year with Zen to have been worth it? How much are you losing in FX with another institution that you could save with Zen? For many businesses, that would pay for itself in less than a month.

I know people happily paying far more than 150 EUR/month for accounts with Zen. I also know some businesses have no need for what Zen can offer.

 

[JohnLocke]

I noticed their payment gateway services which we consider to use for the forum if they will accept it. Do you have any clue about that part of their business?

 

[Sols]

I noticed their payment gateway services which we consider to use for the forum if they will accept it. Do you have any clue about that part of their business?

Generally good, reliable, and reasonably priced.

Zen used to be G2A Pay (https://pay.g2a.com/). Zen is still closely related to G2A.

 

[reimmarkus]

Is Zen.com strict with SOF requests? If yes, what type of documents do they want to see?
@JohnnyDoe

 

[JohnnyDoe]

Is Zen.com strict with SOF requests? If yes, what type of documents do they want to see?
@JohnnyDoe

It’s been a while since they last asked for a sof (I provided an invoice), but I keep making similar transactions so that might be why.

 

[Forester]

Compare the pricing from Zen to the pricing from someone else. Should be pretty simple math to figure out whether paying Zen's monthly fee and transaction fees are greater than or less than paying someone else's monthly fee and transaction fees.

With Zen, you get an account with a financial institution that's comfortable with some forms of high risk business. They also appear quite stable. Zen has access to more currencies than many EMIs, and offer pretty decent FX rates. All that is worth paying for.

How many mishaps/delays with another institution would it take for the 1,800 EUR/year with Zen to have been worth it? How much are you losing in FX with another institution that you could save with Zen? For many businesses, that would pay for itself in less than a month.

I know people happily paying far more than 150 EUR/month for accounts with Zen. I also know some businesses have no need for what Zen can offer.

I completely agree with everything quoted above.

But in addition to that, I have just checked the Zen pricing at https://www.zen.com/files/pricing/business_pricing.pdf (or here Account / Pricing). And while it really has changed (on November 13, 2023; I remember their old four pricing plans), I do not see any plan charging 150 EUR/month there; 100 EUR/month for Enterprise Plan is the maximum. I am aware of fact that they offer also tailor-made solutions and (in the past) they offered e.g. Supreme Plan for 500 EUR/month – but, @aage, could you share some details about your use-case (feel free to go to the Mentor Group or PM if you do not want to do it publicly)? This 150 EUR/month is really a little bit surprising for me...

 

[reimmarkus]

It’s been a while since they last asked for a sof (I provided an invoice), but I keep making similar transactions so that might be why.

Did Zen.com and Blackcatcard ever asked you to provide tax returns or any tax related documents or did they only ask you for invoice and contracts?

 

[wellington]

Why compare with an account in Switzerland? Where, by the way, you can get it for 20 CHF per month at least with the bank we have.

Well yes, and I would like to add that we also looked at Zen as a bank but also thought that 150 EUR per month is completely horrible if you have other options. But I would like to know if there is anyone who can argue why it has to be so expensive?

You are lucky, i was paying 200CHF for one of the banks promoted on here.

 

[JohnLocke]

I don't really base our business on luck but rather on research and negotiations. And that's exactly what I've also started with Zen; we are trying to find out what the right price is for our business, they are looking into it and have promised to come back with an offer. So, I would say it's worth asking once in a while and also being ready to negotiate.

I will update here if we agree on something.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

Did Zen.com and Blackcatcard ever asked you to provide tax returns or any tax related documents or did they only ask you for invoice and contracts?

Blackcatcard requested my personal tax returns, but I pay my taxes from it, so it very much makes sense.
Zen.com asked for the company’s financials, which I provided.

 

[bonox]

Blackcatcard requested my personal tax returns, but I pay my taxes from it, so it very much makes sense.
Zen.com asked for the company’s financials, which I provided.

Why do they ask for such documents, how does it comply with AML and other rules?

 

[JohnnyDoe]

Why do they ask for such documents, how does it comply with AML and other rules?

Every transaction must have a legit explanation. These are the rules of the game.

 

[reimmarkus]

Zen.com asked for the company’s financials, which I provided.

What exactly do you mean by "financials"? Does this include tax returns or only Invoices & contracts?

 

[JohnnyDoe]

What exactly do you mean by "financials"? Does this include tax returns or only Invoices & contracts?

I mean the financial statements as filed with the tax authorities.

 

[reimmarkus]

I mean the financial statements as filed with the tax authorities.

When did Zen & Blackcatcard start asking you for tax related documents? Already in the beginning or after 6figs went through the accounts?

 

[Piano]

When did Zen & Blackcatcard start asking you for tax related documents? Already in the beginning or after 6figs went through the accounts?

Same question for me

 

[void]

Every transaction must have a legit explanation. These are the rules of the game.

when it comes to invoices, salaries and other documentation supporting individual transactions then fine, that's what we can generally accept and makes at least a basic sense

but there is no justification to ask for tax returns and other general paperwork - such a request is a perfect moment to show the middle finger because it will get way worse, Revolut and Bankera are the last ones who tried this on me