N26 is a Berlin-based digital bank that provides mobile-controlled bank accounts, debit and virtual cards and a suite of financial products. Its core product is a mobile app that enables instant account opening, payments, card control and premium subscription tiers (N26 Smart, You, Metal) alongside first- and third-party add-ons such as insurance, credit and overdraft capabilities. The company serves 7 million clients across 25 countries and is on track to process $90 billion in transaction volume in 2021. N26 recently secured significant capital to fund long-term projects including investment and trading products and plans to hire 1,000 people. The business has refocused on profitability and its core European markets, plans aggressive expansion into Eastern Europe (including an office in Belgrade), lists a Brazil launch with no date, and operates a U.S. waitlist. It has faced regulatory scrutiny from BaFin (a €4.25M fine and temporary signup limits) and says it has invested in compliance and expanded employee equity participation via an ESOP. N26 is a Berlin-based fintech challenger bank offering mobile banking and payments, monetizing through premium subscriptions, interchange fees, and fees from third-party and in-house financial products. The company has seen customer behavior shifts during the crisis: spending volume is down 20–30% depending on the market, which has reduced interchange revenue, while account balances have risen as customers postpone payments. Subscriptions are reported as quite stable and churn isn’t higher than usual; the company had about 250,000 U.S. customers as of January. N26 plans to double down on its most promising markets — Europe, the U.S., and Brazil — after shutting down U.K. operations following Brexit-related licensing challenges. In the U.S. it has adapted product features such as ACH top-ups, and in Brazil it has applied for a fintech license and hopes to obtain it within six months. On staffing, N26 says it is being more selective in hiring and is using short-time working in Germany for some roles to reduce hours while preserving most pay. N26 builds a retail mobile bank users can sign up for from their phone and control cards and payments through the app, with features such as fee-free foreign transactions. The company has attracted 3.5 million customers across Europe. It has launched its challenger bank in the U.S. and plans to expand to Brazil in the coming months. N26 is rolling out product work around Spaces (sub-accounts) and Shared Spaces, multiple cards per account, and an app update featuring a transaction-based timeline with integrated customer support. The roadmap includes live-chat customer service launched from individual transactions and phased feature rollouts tied to the new infrastructure. Financially, the company has raised a total of $670 million and positions itself to scale toward an ambition of more than 50 million users globally. N26 builds a retail bank from scratch with a mobile-first product that lets users open an account and get a card in minutes and manage everything from their phone or computer. The company emphasizes superior user experience versus traditional banks and has launched product features like Spaces, with upcoming updates for shared spaces, virtual cards, and multiple account numbers. N26 is live in 24 European markets and has tripled its user base to 2.3 million customers; customers hold €1 billion in N26 accounts and the company has processed €20 billion in transaction volume. Around a third of customers pay for a premium account, and depending on the market 32–35% choose premium products, which is an important revenue driver alongside card interchange and financial products such as overdrafts, savings, and consumer credit. Management says the business is profitable on a per-customer basis but will consume cash in 2019 to fund expansion. The company has about 700 employees across Berlin, Barcelona and New York and plans U.S. expansion in 2019 and to enter four to six additional markets outside the U.S. and Europe over the next couple of years. N26 is building a mobile-first retail bank from scratch, offering current accounts and a growing set of banking features. The company has attracted 850,000 customers and employs about 380 people. With the new funding it plans to expand into the U.K. and the U.S., roll out savings, invest, overdraft and insurance features beyond Germany and Austria, and add shared-account and multi-currency capabilities. N26 also intends to double down on partnerships, hire more engineers, and leverage artificial intelligence to create a smart banking experience. This year the company plans to process $16 billion (€13 billion) in transaction volume and is targeting more than 5 million customers by 2020. Management says the round moves N26 toward a pre-IPO stage and leaves open the possibility of an IPO within the next five years.

Total raised

$1.7B

Funding rounds

8

Latest round

Series E

Latest activity

Oct 2021