|
N26, which counts Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing and Silicon
Valley investor Peter Thiel among its backers, is competing with
traditional branch-based retail banks by offering a suite of
mobile banking services that customers can use from their
smartphones.
Since its launch in 2015, N26, with a German banking license
that gives it access to the entire European Union, has expanded
into 17 European countries including Austria, France, Spain and
Italy.
"We will enter the British market this year and expect the
market there to be of similar importance to us as France," Chief
Executive Officer Valentin Stalf said in an interview.
N26 will partner with a bank in the United States because its
license isn't valid there, Stalf said. "The plan is to bring our
product to the market at the end of the year," Stalf said.
Stalf said N26 opted against operating in China because the
market for mobile payments there is already advanced, but he
sees good opportunities in the United States.
"In the U.S., products and technology are old, and not oriented
to digital customers, and the prices that banks charge are
relatively high," he said.
N26 employs a team of 10 in New York and has budgeted 5-10
million euros ($6-12 million) for the project.
In March, N26 said it raised $160 million in a funding round
co-led by China's Tencent Holdings Ltd and Allianz Group's
digital investment unit. The funding round brought the total
funds raised by the company to $215 million, the most in
Germany's fintech sector.
(Reporting by Nadine Schimroszik; Writing by Tom Sims; Editing
by Keith Weir)
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
