Challenger bank N26 raises $300 million, gears up for US launch

Challenger bank, N26 announced a $300 million Series D round. The funding comes as somewhat of a surprise, as the company closed a $160 million round in early 2018. The global ambitions of N26: TechCrunch cites three reasons why Germany-based N26 raised this warchest now:

1. N26's user base tripled in a year (N26 currently has 2.3 million accounts) and about a third of customers are paying for the company's premium Black or Metal accounts.
2. Valuations have grown for the challenger bank. The last round was done at under $1 billion. In this round, N26 was valued at $2.7 billion
3. The company has global ambitions and is preparing for a U.S. launch. The firm will need deep pockets to penetrate competitive markets.

2019 shaping up to be the year of the challenger banks: N26's competitors, Monzo (£211.7) and Revolut (£336M) have both raised significantly large amounts of capital and have goals of going global. In the US, they'll have to contend with domestic challengers, like Chime, as well as the digital arms of incumbent banks, like Chase's Finn.