Berlin-based challenger bank N26 will be opening its services to users in the United States and the United Kingdom by the end of this year, founder and chief executive officer Valentin Stalf told Reuters today.
The bank, which was officially launched in 2015, currently has a German banking license, allowing it to operate in other European countries such as Austria, France, Spain, and Italy. The app is currently available in 17 additional countries as well as its native Germany.
The bank will launch in the British market this year, a market that N26 expects will be “of similar importance to us as France,” Stalf said.
For its launch in the U.S., N26 is partnering with a bank since its European license does not apply in the U.S. market. The plan, Stalf told Reuters, “is to bring our product to the market by the end of year.”
Stalf said:
In the U.S., products and technology are old, and not oriented to digital customers, and the prices that banks charge are relatively high.
The bank currently has about $6-to-$12 million devoted to its U.S. launch, and currently has a 10-person team devoted to the launch based in New York. Users in the U.S. can currently sign up for early access to the app on the N26 website.
N26 currently has about $212 million in funding after raising a $160 million round last month including investors from Tencent Holdings and Allian X. The bank had 850,000 total customers as of March 2018.