N26 is launching its banking app in the US. Starting in a staged rollout, the 100,000 customers on the US waitlist will be invited to sign up and have full access to the product. A full public launch will follow later this summer, according to the press release.
“The US launch is a major milestone for N26 to change banking globally and reach more than 50 million customers in the coming years,” says Valentin Stalf, co-founder and CEO, N26. “We know that millions of people around the world and particularly in the US are still paying hidden and exorbitant fees and are frustrated by poor banking experiences. N26 will radically change the way Americans bank as it has done for so many people throughout Europe.”
N26 already has a strong presence in the market, where it operates via its wholly-owned subsidiary, N26 Inc., based in New York. Since opening its office in New York, the company has been able to gain valuable insights on the US market and consumers, which is reflected in the development and rollout of the US product behaviour.
The US team already consists of over 50 employees. The initial US product includes a N26 account via Axos Bank®, a federally regulated and FDIC-insured bank, and a Visa® debit card.
Just as in Europe, N26 empowers its US customers to take control of their finances. Account activity is displayed in the app in real time and each transaction is automatically categorized. Customers can also set daily spending limits and lock and unlock their cards with a simple swipe in the app.
N26 is ideal for travelers as there are no foreign transaction fees when making purchases internationally. Each account also comes with Spaces, which are sub-accounts that help people organize and achieve their financial goals. Spaces can be created with a simple click, and users can easily drag and drop money to and from their Spaces.
“We’re very excited to bring our experience to US customers. In Europe, we’re loved for our effortless and sleek user experience, with no hidden fees. Starting today, you can sign up entirely from your phone in just five minutes. There are no account maintenance fees or minimum balances required.” says Nicolas Kopp, US CEO, N26 Inc.
Between today’s beta launch and a full public launch later this summer, people on the waitlist will continuously be invited to get access to the N26 app. Over the summer, we will also launch additional perks and shortly thereafter we will introduce Metal, our premium tier account, to our US customers.
Since the initial European product launch in 2015, N26 has reached 3.5 million customers in 24 European markets. The bank attracts over 10,000 new customers every day in Europe primarily through word of mouth.
N26 was founded in 2013 by Valentin Stalf and Maximilian Tayenthal who envisioned the future of banking to be fast, digital, and easy to use for people throughout the world. With its widespread success in Europe, N26 is currently focused on overseas expansion, first in the US, followed by Brazil. N26 has raised more than $500 million from the world’s most established investors, including US-based firms Insight Venture Partners and Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures.
N26 employs more than 1300 employees across 5 office locations: Berlin, New York Barcelona, Vienna and São Paulo. With a full European banking license, and no bank branches, the company has raised more than $500 million.
N26 currently operates in: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
Banking 4.0 – „how was the experience for you”
„So many people are coming here to Bucharest, people that I see and interact on linkedin and now I get the change to meet them in person. It was like being to the Football World Cup but this was the World Cup on linkedin in payments and open banking.”
Many more interesting quotes in the video below:
