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N26 logo on a smartphone
Photo: DADO RUVIC / REUTERS
The Berlin internet bank N26 is withdrawing from the USA.
From January 11, 2022, the business will be discontinued, announced N26.
With this, N26 is pulling the rip cord two years after entering the market and intends to focus on Europe in the future.
In addition to strengthening the European core markets, N26 aims to expand into other Eastern European markets in the future.
"This is intended to serve the potential and the increasing demand for digital banking products in this region."
N26 is now valued at over nine billion dollars and is the most valuable German fintech company.
But the rapid expansion course has repeatedly caused trouble for the Berliner Bank.
The institute hit the headlines because of deficiencies in the fight against money laundering and in risk management.
Financial regulators recently appointed a special envoy for the second time in a few months and limited customer growth.
She also ordered that the bank can now grow to a maximum of 50,000 new customers per month.
Corona pandemic slump
N26 got off to a brilliant start at the end of 2019 in cooperation with the US partner bank Axos.
The smartphone app recorded more than 20,000 downloads in some cases.
But with the reduction in advertising in the corona pandemic, the download figures also collapsed.
N26 customers in the US can use their accounts as usual until January 11, 2022.
You should receive separate instructions on the next steps to ensure a smooth transition.
The withdrawal from the USA is not the first setback: At the beginning of 2020, N26 announced that it would withdraw from the UK and terminate more than 100,000 customers there.
N26 justified the withdrawal at the time with the expiry of the banking license for the British market due to the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union.
dab / dpa / Reuters
