N26 plots delayed US launch with $300m funding
Germany-based mobile challenger bank N26 is talking about its US launch again thanks to $300 million in a Series D funding round.
The round was led by Insight Venture Partners and takes N26’s valuation to a mighty $2.7 billion. It also includes participation from GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, and several existing investors.
Has been planning US launch for quite a while
Harley Miller, principal at Insight Venture Partners, says: “It’s increasingly rare these days to come across such a massive industry which hasn’t experienced disruption by technology. N26 is the clear market leader in the European mobile banking industry; the company is ideally positioned to expand to the US market this year, and build a formidable global digital consumer brand.”
N26 will use the proceeds for its US launch of its mobile banking product in the first half of 2019.
As reported in March 2018, the bank closed a €110 million Series C funding round as it sought to consolidate its presence in Europe and expand to the US.
At that time, N26 said its launch in the US was expected in June 2018 with over eight people employed in its NYC office.
According to N26, the $300 million funding represents the largest private equity financing round for a fintech company in Europe in recent years.
To date, it has raised more than $500 million from investors including Tencent, Allianz X, Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures, Li Ka-Shing’s Horizons Ventures, Earlybird Venture Capital, Redalpine Ventures and Greyhound Capital.
To its credit, it is doing well and staying vocal. N26’s ambition is to build the “first global mobile bank”. Currently operating in 24 markets across Europe, it says it has more than tripled its customer base in the last 12 months to more than 2.3 million customers.
Back in October 2018, it entered the UK market with its beta launch. It had been planning the move since November 2017.
