German mobile bank N26 hits a new milestone as it surpasses 7 million customers across EU and the US
Nickie Louise
Posted On January 28, 2021
German mobile bank N26 reaches a new milestone this month as the Peter Thiel-backed startup surpasses 7 million customers across the EU and the US despite the coronavirus pandemic. Late last year, the startup launched N26 Smart, a new premium digital bank account for just €4.90 a month. Given its recent successes, N26 is now focused on improving and scaling its digital banking offer to keep pace with its customers’ changing needs.
The fintech startup, which is backed by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Peter Thiel, was launched in 2013 to offer mobile banking solutions to customers in the European Union through its subsidiary. The startup expanded to the U.S. in July 2019.
At a time where digital banking has become even more relevant than before, N26 extended its card portfolio, launching N26 Business Metal and introducing a new premium subscription, N26 Smart, giving customers access to its popular premium banking services at a competitive and economical price.
At the height of the pandemic, N26 introduced Instant Banking features so customers could add a digital card to their mobile wallet and start using their new digital account immediately while waiting for their physical card to arrive – for branchless, paperless account opening. In addition, N26 introduced a new Round-Ups feature, which automatically rounds up each purchase to the nearest Euro and sets it aside in Spaces, making saving during the crisis effortless and simple.
Lastly, N26 extended its travel insurance cover with Allianz to cover pandemic-related claims.
2020 also saw N26 continue to invest in improving its customer experience to serve the needs of a larger, more diverse customer base. N26 is the only digital bank to live Customer Support in 5 languages 7 days a week, and continues to invest in specialist training, developing its chatbot capabilities and implementing more self-service features within the app.
N26 co-founder and CEO, Valentin Stalf: “Now more than ever, digitalization and innovation are fundamental to Europe’s future. We will continue to bring exciting everyday banking features to millions of additional customers who still feel stuck in the offline world”
N26 is also preparing to expand beyond its subscription, core banking, and payments business to offer new services in 2021, increasing its range of banking revenue streams. This includes building out a seamless connection to the financial ecosystem from within the N26 banking experience, offered through the new N26 Marketplace.
In addition, N26 will further invest into growing its team in 2021 with a strong focus on increasing the size of its product and tech organization by over 200, globally.
N26 will continue to deliver more timely and relevant features and products to customers including virtual cards, Advanced Statistics, which helps customers to better understand their spending behavior, additional local payment options, and enhancements to Spaces, which will become fully functional sub-accounts with an independent IBAN.
