N26 crosses 5 million customer milestone on fifth anniversary of launch

Allianz-backed N26 announced that it has surpassed the 5 million customer mark, five years after the initial launch of the bank’s mobile-only account on January 26, 2015. The announcement comes after a year of “unprecedented growth” that saw the mobile bank grow its global customer base by more than 2x in 2019 alone, welcoming more new customers than every single year before combined.

In 2019, the startup entered the US market as Europe’s first challenger bank to do so, opened a new TechHub in Vienna, launched its new premium product N26 You, and introduced Shared Spaces and flexible sub-accounts. N26 also invested in its team, growing a 1,500-strong workforce of 80 nationalities in five locations worldwide, up from 300 people two years earlier. The startup has received almost 150,000 job applications in 2019 alone.

“2019 was not just a year of growth, but also conscious investment in our product, our people, and the service experience. It has been a phenomenal journey so far, and we continue to improve banking for more and more customers daily.” – N26 cofounder and CFO Maximilian Tayenthal.

“5 million customers is a great achievement, but it’s not just growth that we are after. We are today, one of the biggest players in digital banking. But we have not forgotten our original mission – to challenge an industry that is ripe for change. N26 has proved that banking can be simple and intuitive through the use of technology.” – Valentin Stalf, cofounder and CEO of N26.