German FinTech N26 Notches $100M Amid Uncertainty

German challenger bank N26 closed a funding deal for an additional $100 million as it prepares for financial uncertainty due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

The Series D extension was funded by previous investors Tencent and Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures. The Series D was announced at the beginning of 2019, according to a CNBC report on Tuesday (May 5). The new funds bring the Series D to $570 million. N26 has raised $770 million to date. N26 also added $170 million to its Series D round in July 2019.

The FinTech’s valuation wasn’t upped following the new funding and is still $3.5 billion. N26’s co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Valentin Stalf called the new funding a “successful round” especially when taking in the volatility in financial markets.

“It makes us still one of the most highly-valued companies around Europe,” Stalf told CNBC. “It’s not only about where we are today at $3.5 billion, but where are we going to be in five to 10 years.”

Stalf said the FinTech has enough cash but went for additional funding as more people “bank from home.” N26′s ATM withdrawals are down 50 percent and eCommerce payments have skyrocketed among customers aged 65 and older.

Further, Stalf said N26 had been in talks for increased funding before the pandemic hit. He added that the bank has more than 5 million users.

“We’ve always been a well-financed company. For us it’s an opportunity to raise more capital,” he told CNBC. “Every company at this time is very much focusing on the next two to three years and how we get through the crisis. We just want to be very well-prepared, and that’s why we decided to raise more capital now.”

“With the economic crisis that is resulting out of Covid-19, I think we as a company at least are planning for an impact that will still be ongoing later this year,” he added.

N26 is Berlin’s most valuable FinTech startup and grew its customer base from the 3.5 million users in the summer of 2019 to its current level of 5 million users, a 40 percent jump.