Digital banking start-up N26 is taking on the likes of Revolut, Monzo and Starling Bank after announcing its expansion into the UK market.
The German FinTech said its beta product will be made available in phases, starting with an initial ‘friends and family’ phase followed by a roll-out to a waiting list of “more than 50,000 UK subscribers”.
A full UK launch is planned for November.
Backed by some of the world’s leading investors, including China’s Tencent, N26 claims to have more than 1.5 million customers across 17 existing European markets. The FinTech has held a European banking licence for two years.
Announcing its expansion, co-founder and CEO Valentin Stalf hailed the UK as “one of the most digitally advanced countries in the world”.
“At N26, we have re-imagined banking for the digital age and as a result we’re the fastest growing mobile bank in all European markets we operate,” he said.
“Backed by our state-of-the-art technology stack and an intuitive, user-centric design, today’s launch is the first step towards delivering the best digital banking experience possible for UK customers.”
Launched in 2015, N26 has quickly grown across Europe and now claims that over 5,000 new customers sign up to its service each day.
The business currently employs more than 500 people across three locations, and plans to launch in the US market in the first half of 2019.
Along with Tencent, N26 is also backed by Allianz X, Valar Ventures and Earlybird Ventures.