Revolut and N26 are awash with money after the conclusion of new rounds of financing. With their financing needs solved, their plans for Switzerland are becoming more tangible.
The two unicorns in the neo-banking community – U.K.-based Revolut and Germany’s N26 – recently received financing worth a triple-digit amount.
Revolut for instance garnered $500 million in February, while N26 just added $100 million through a funding round to its coffers, according to a statement released on Tuesday.
Revolut's European Plans
The U.K. digital bank has worked steadily on its plan to establish a bank with a European license. According to a report by fintech magazine «Finextra», Revolut on Monday announced that it had officially launched a bank in Lithuania.
It will use the European banking license that it received for the operations in Lituania to start awarding loans, issue credit cards and open savings accounts. It also plans to expand the services from Vilnius to countries in the center and east of the European Union.
Aggressive Push Expected
Revolut Chief Executive Nikolay Storonsky told the «Financial Times» (behind paywall) that his bank stood a fair chance of profiting from the coronacrisis, even though revenues had fallen due to the lower number of card transactions during the lockdown.
The company aims to also go back to its roots and negotiate deals with digital travel services firms such as booking.com or kayak – platforms that allow clients to book everything from flights and hotel rooms to rental cars.
Storonsky suggested that Revolut was rich enough to buy a travel aggregator, which tended to be in trouble due to travel restrictions. He added that Revolut could sell flights at a 10 to 15 percent discount compared with other firms.
N26 to Bolster Existing Channels
N26 by contrast will seek to build on the product pipeline and to boost business in its core markets. It will use the additional cash to satisfy new demand for mobile bank accounts.
The digital bank currently serves 24 European markets and the U.S. and plans to expand that business in coming months. N26 has also applied for a fintech license in Brazil.
Whether the two companies will expand by taking over ailing rivals remains to be seen. And also, whether smaller banks are becoming takeover targets for major tech firms.
