N26 has been in the headlines recently, and not always for the right reasons.
Last week on Oct. 11, 2022, they announced increased losses over the past two years and a slowdown in customer growth. This followed a year of setbacks from what is reportedly one of Europe’s most valuable neobanks.
However, on Oct. 20, N26 announced a more positive step.
Bitpanda, a fintech unicorn N26 had its eye on for a while, has partnered with the neobank to bring crypto capabilities to its customers.
Bitpanda’s White Label product
At the center stage of the partnership is Bitpanda’s White-Label solution. The infrastructure, driven by APIs, allows fintechs and traditional banks to access trading and custody services. Through the partnership, eligible N26 customers can invest in almost 200 cryptocurrencies.
“As the industry evolves, it is becoming increasingly clear that the best way for fintechs to impact people’s lives truly is by working together,” said Eric Demuth, co-founder, and CEO of Bitpanda.
“Bitpanda White Label, our investing-as-a-service solution, gives our B2B partners access to the whole Bitpanda infrastructure in a modular and individual way. It is our commitment to an exciting, collaborative vision for the future of finance and is built around 8 years of hard-won trading experience.”
“We’re excited to welcome N26 as Bitpanda White Label’s latest partner and look forward to continuing our work to advocate for a financial services industry that works for everyone.”
A ‘long-term’ bid
N26 will only be offering crypto trading as a “wealth-building feature.” Customers will be able to buy, sell and hold tokens, but will not be able to make transfers.
The feature will also not be anonymous. Each customer will undergo a rigorous vetting process, requiring compliance with “strict eligibility criteria” and the standard KYC.
“While cryptocurrencies have seen a decline in value over the last year, they remain a requested and interesting asset class for investors and a growing part of the financial system,” said Valentin Stalf, N26 co-founder and Co-CEO.
“Cryptocurrency trading is often the entry point to investing for a new generation of investors looking to explore ways to grow their wealth. With N26 Crypto, we offer a simple way to trade and invest, with a great user experience and low and transparent fees.”
The partnership will be rolled out progressively to N26 customers in Austria before being made accessible across other markets in the coming months.
Representatives have said that the decision to launch in Austria has come from an increase in “strong local demand.”
They found that 40% of their customers in the jurisdiction were already trading or had shown an interest. The bank has described this move as a “long-term” strategy and could be a bid to improve dwindling numbers of new customers onboarding between 2020 and 2021.
As more neobanks announce cryptocurrency capabilities, only time will tell if this decision will pay off for N26.
