Costs, licensing, consumer protection Privacy, self-custody, censorship resistance

UniCredit — My Genius

UniCredit S.p.A. · Mastercard/Visa

3.5/5 1.3/5 · Data verified on

My Genius is UniCredit's customisable current account — Italy's second-largest bank and a pan-European group under ECB supervision. The base fee is €1.90/month (€22.80/year), waived with salary/pension/recurring transfer crediting ≥ €750, and includes the MyOne debit card (Mastercard/Visa). The downside is running costs: online SEPA transfers cost €1.30 (not free unless you buy a €2/month bundle) and withdrawals at other banks cost €2. FITD €100,000 deposit guarantee.

31
Transparency: Very low
31/100 · see methodology
31
Data exposure: Minimal
31/100 · lower is better for sovereignty · methodology

Data & conditions

Account fee €2
IBAN dedicato · IT · IT
Deposit guarantee EU guarantee €100,000
Multi-currency No (single currency)
Outbound transfers to third-party IBANs Yes
Utility direct billing Yes
SEPA direct debit (SDD) Yes
On-chain crypto withdrawal No
SEPA transfer €1
Card included Carta di debito MyOne (Mastercard/Visa) inclusa, digitale €0 (fisica €3,50 + spedizione)
Interest on balance 0%
Network Mastercard/Visa
ATM withdrawal Free
Free ATM limit UniCredit ATMs Italy and abroad €0; other banks in Italy and abroad €2.00
Fund custody Custodial (platform holds funds)
KYC Full
Supported countries EEA · 1+ countries
Regulator Banca d'Italia · BCE (MVU)
Segment B2C
Funding / solidityItaly's second-largest bank · pan-European group ~15M customers · listed (UCG)
MiCA / License status Licenza bancaria (Albo Banche, Gruppo UniCredit cod. 2008.1) IT banking licence (Bank of Italy · ECB-SSM)

Plans & pricing

Strengths

  • Low base fee (€1.90/month = €22.80/year), waived with salary/pension/transfer crediting ≥ €750
  • MyOne debit card (Mastercard/Visa) included; digital issuance €0; UniCredit ATM withdrawals in Italy and abroad at €0
  • Dense branch network + multichannel bank, with dedicated under-30 discounts
  • Significant bank supervised by the Bank of Italy and the ECB with FITD €100,000 deposit guarantee
  • No notable sovereignty advantage documented.

Weaknesses

  • Online SEPA transfers at €1.30 (not free unless you buy the €2/month bundle) — a disadvantage vs accounts offering them at €0
  • Withdrawals at other banks in Italy and abroad €2.00; physical card is paid (€3.50 + shipping)
  • Opaque modular fee structure; ~0% credit rate; single-currency account (EUR only)
  • Custodial: the platform holds your funds and can freeze or lose them.
  • Full KYC required: verified identity, zero pseudonymity.
  • Subject to regulation (IT banking licence (Bank of Italy · ECB-SSM)): reporting to authorities and freezes on order.
  • FATF-aligned jurisdiction: strong cooperation with authorities.
  • Closed source: no way to verify what it does with wallet and data.

Verdict

C D ★ 3.5/5 ★ 1.3/5

My Genius stops at a middling score: supervision by the Bank of Italy and the ECB, FITD €100,000 deposit guarantee and an included Mastercard/Visa debit card are solid, but the account is cost-heavy on daily operations. Online SEPA transfers at €1.30 (free only by paying €2/month) and withdrawals at other banks at €2 make it less convenient than zero-fee accounts; the modular structure is opaque and the fee is fully waived only with crediting ≥ €750. Non-interest-bearing, single-currency account.

Supervised bank account: custodial, full KYC, censorable and freezable by court order or AML obligation. The FITD deposit guarantee and Bank of Italy supervision — strengths for protection — are exactly what distance it from the trustless model. No self-custody, no permissionless use.

Privacy & anonymity 30% 1.1
Fund control 20% 1.4
Censorship resistance 20% 1.4
Trustless / auditability 20% 0.0
Costs 10% 4.7

Promp's editorial rating based on real fees and net annual cost. Promp reviews third-party products independently.

"Sovereignty" rating: score computed on privacy/anonymity (30%), fund control (20%), censorship resistance (20%), trustless/auditability (20%) and costs (10%). Same data, different weights.

FAQ

How much is the My Genius fee?

The base fee is €1.90/month (€22.80/year) plus €34.20 stamp duty. It is waived with salary, pension or recurring transfer crediting ≥ €750 into the account.

Are transfers and withdrawals free?

No: an online SEPA transfer (standard or instant) costs €1.30, waived only with the unlimited-transfers bundle at €2/month. Withdrawals at UniCredit ATMs (Italy and abroad) are €0, but at other banks they cost €2.00.

Are deposits guaranteed?

Yes, by the Interbank Deposit Protection Fund (FITD) up to €100,000 per depositor.

Sources

Update history

✓ Terms unchanged since Jul 12, 2026

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