The newsroom behind every Fidelis Crypto review
We're a small editorial desk of former bankers, fintech analysts and personal-finance reporters who got tired of marketing copy dressed up as journalism.
Founded in 2016 to cut through fintech noise
Fidelis Crypto started as a Bucharest-based newsletter in 2016, when Andrei Popescu was frustrated that every "best neobank" list online was just a ranked affiliate sheet. Nine years later, we publish daily across six fintech beats and have helped 540,000+ readers each month pick the right digital banking tools.
We don't take placement fees. We don't accept "review packages." Editors fund every product they test from the same pooled budget, hold accounts for at least 60 days, and publish their methodology with every comparison. It's slower, less profitable, and the only model we'd put our names against.
In 2023 we hit a 4.9 average reader rating across 12,400 review responses. In 2024 we doubled our staff and launched the Weekly Fintech Digest, which now lands in 38,000 inboxes every Friday.
Four principles every editor signs
These aren't decoration. New hires read and sign these before their first byline goes live.
Hands-on testing
Every product is held in a live account for at least 60 days and stress-tested on real transfers, support tickets and edge cases.
No paid placements
We refuse review packages, sponsored rankings and affiliate-influenced scores. Period. We've turned down €184,000 in 2025 already.
Transparent methodology
Every comparison ships with the scoring grid, sample sizes and dates we ran the tests. You can replicate it in a weekend.
Reader-first writing
Plain language, no jargon walls. If your grandmother couldn't open her first IBAN from one of our guides, the guide needs another draft.
The editors behind every byline
A small newsroom of 18 people in Bucharest, Berlin and Lisbon — most of us came from inside the banks we now review.
Andrei Popescu
Former product lead at a mid-sized European challenger bank. Founded Fidelis Crypto in 2016 after seeing how affiliate-driven the EU fintech press had become.
Elena Ionescu
Eleven years inside retail-banking compliance at two top-three EU institutions. Runs our 27-point testing methodology for every neobank we cover.
Mihai Dumitrescu
Background in payments infrastructure and SEPA Instant. Writes our payment-app showdowns and is the only one of us who actually enjoys reading PSD2 footnotes.
Ioana Constantinescu
Built engineering teams at two scaling EU fintechs before joining us in 2022. Owns our open banking, API and crypto-banking coverage.
Have a fintech tip we should chase?
Industry leaks, neobank product launches, security disclosures or just an account experience worth sharing — our editors read everything.