Brazilians will gain another strong digital banking option in 2020. It’s the European bank N26, which will arrive in the country with the proposal to improve the customer’s relationship with financial institutions.
According to the bank’s general manager in Brazil, Eduardo Prota, N26’s motto is to be “the bank we love to love.”
Is there a specific launch date yet? Not yet. Prota said it will be from 2020, but did not want to specify even the month when it will happen.
What’s the story behind N26? It was founded in 2013 by Austrian entrepreneurs Valentin Stalf and Maximilian Tayenthal. It started operating in 2015 and became one of the main digital banks in Europe — it is currently present in 26 countries, mostly in Europe, with more than 3.5 million customers.
But what does Brazil have in common with other countries where N26 is present? Prota said one of N26’s goals is to solve a very common problem in several markets: the very poor experience offered to mobile banking users, especially millennials (people born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s), and the low trust in banks.
Can you explain some of the differentiators better? Prota states that the N26 app will offer a personalization and customization experience that the Brazilian public is supposedly not yet accustomed to.
Examples given include the ability to choose colors, create sub-accounts, and access a community within the app.
Will it be a full-service bank? Prota replies with a question: “Does it need to be that full?” He says the bank will offer what makes sense for the bank.
“Whatever doesn’t make sense, we will do through partnerships.” One example is international money transfers, which on the N26 account are made through TransferWise.
Will there be business accounts? No. According to the executive, the focus will be on individuals.
What’s the context for N26’s arrival in Brazil? It will become another option for Brazilians seeking banks with lower costs and digital solutions that simplify financial services.
It is a growing market that includes players like Banco Inter, C6 Bank, Nubank, and Neon Pagamentos, among others, as well as those dedicated to offering specific solutions, such as credit, payments, or insurance.
