N26 founder and managing director Valentin Stalf. (Photo: dpa)
15.02.2020, 00:28 a.m.
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The Berlin smartphone bank N26 is beaten by the British competition on Revolut’s home market. According to fintech, this does not change the claim to want to build a global bank.
App-Bank N26 is giving up the British market after Britain’s exit from the European Union. The accounts of the users there will expire on April 15, as the Berlin company announced on Tuesday. N26 has a European full bank license, which no longer applies after the Brexit in Great Britain according to the withdrawal agreement. “The fact that we are leaving the UK does not change our vision of improving the global retail banking business,” the bank wrote on the N26 blog.
N26 does not want to apply for a UK banking license
The company could also have applied for a license for the UK – but this would “involve considerable operational effort and regulatory complexity,” said N26. “The growth potential is higher with comparable effort in other, larger markets such as the EU and the USA.” The United Kingdom is the headquarters of Revolut, the largest competitor of N26 in Europe. A few days ago, Revolut announced a new round of funding for $ 500 million.
N26 claims to have “several hundred thousand” customers in Great Britain, according to the BBC broadcaster, around 200,000. N26 is now focusing on growth in 24 other European countries and the USA as well as preparing to enter new markets, the company said. In the coming weeks, UK customers will be asked to transfer any funds to other accounts. The majority of employees in the UK should switch to new roles within the company. sdr / dpa
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