N26 company profile: valuation, funding & revenue

This N26 company profile covers the company's valuation, revenue, funding rounds, investors and history. N26 works in fintech, with a focus on digital banking. It was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Berlin, Germany. Its latest valuation on record is About US$9 billion (2021 peak, reported) (2021). Every figure links to a public source, and anything the company hasn't disclosed is marked as such.

Revenue

About €440 million projected, up about 40% from €313.5 million in 2023 — Annual revenue, fiscal 2024 (company projection), as of November 2024. Source: N26 press release.

Funding history

No funding rounds recorded from reliable sources.

N26 timeline

Key dates from the sources on this page, oldest first. Metric snapshots are listed after the funding events.

• 2013 — N26 is founded in Berlin by Valentin Stalf and Maximilian Tayenthal.
• Q3 2024 — First quarterly profit: Net operating income of €2.8 million in Q3 2024.
• November 2024 — Revenue-relevant customers: About 4.8 million expected by end of 2024.
• June 2024 — Regulation: BaFin lifted its cap on N26's customer growth.
• August 2025 — Leadership: Co-founder Valentin Stalf announced he would step down as co-CEO and move to the supervisory board.

Investors

Overview

N26 is a Berlin-based digital bank offering current accounts, cards, savings, investments and other services through a mobile app across many European countries. It holds a full German banking licence, which lets it operate across the European Union. It was one of the earliest and best-known European "neobanks," and for a time one of Europe's most valuable fintech startups.

Valentin Stalf and Maximilian Tayenthal, both from Austria, founded N26 in 2013. The company grew rapidly in its first years, then ran into serious regulatory trouble over its controls against money laundering, which shaped much of its recent history.

How N26 makes money

N26 earns revenue from interest on customer deposits, card transaction fees, paid premium account subscriptions, and newer products such as investments and credit. Like other digital banks, it benefited from higher interest rates in 2023 and 2024, which increased the income it earned on deposits.

Regulatory history

N26's growth exposed weaknesses in its compliance systems. Germany's financial regulator, BaFin, imposed a cap on the number of new customers N26 could take on each month, along with fines and requirements to strengthen its anti-money-laundering and risk controls. The cap was a severe constraint for a company whose strategy depended on growth. BaFin lifted it in June 2024, and N26 credited that with accelerating its customer growth.

Regulatory pressure didn't end there. In 2025, according to reports, BaFin identified new risk management weaknesses, including in N26's mortgage business in the Netherlands, and proposed further measures. Investors also pressed for changes at the top.

Leadership changes

In August 2025, N26 announced that co-founder Valentin Stalf would step down as co-CEO and move to the supervisory board after a transition period. Reports described pressure from some investors and from regulators as factors. Stalf said the move would let him spend more time on his family office and other ventures. Board chairman Marcus Mosen received provisional regulatory approval to become interim co-CEO alongside Maximilian Tayenthal, and former Bundesbank executive Andreas Dombret was brought in to chair the supervisory board. Leadership arrangements may have changed since, so check the latest announcements.

Revenue and profitability

In November 2024, N26 said it expected 2024 revenue of about €440 million, up roughly 40% from €313.5 million in 2023. It reported its first quarterly profit, with net operating income of €2.8 million in the third quarter of 2024, after its first monthly break-even in June. It also expected a full-year net operating loss of about €20 million, including a one-off item in the fourth quarter. Final audited figures may differ from those projections.

The company said it expected about 4.8 million "revenue-relevant" customers by the end of 2024, meaning customers who generate meaningful revenue, up from 4.2 million a year earlier, with more than 200,000 new sign-ups a month and most new customers coming through word of mouth.

Valuation

N26 reached a valuation of about US$9 billion in 2021, according to research firm Sacra, at the peak of fintech valuations. We haven't found a more recent confirmed valuation from a priced round in the sources we used. Given the fall in fintech multiples since 2021 and N26's regulatory issues, its current market value is likely to differ from that peak. Our guide to down rounds explains how valuations reset after booms.

Competitive landscape

N26 competes with traditional European banks, which have improved their apps, and with other digital banks and fintechs, especially Revolut, which has grown much larger and more profitable. Its advantages are a full EU banking licence, a well-known brand and a simple product. Its challenges are regulatory trust, competition from larger rivals and proving sustained profitability.

Lessons from N26

• Compliance must scale with growth. N26's growth cap shows how regulators can halt a bank's expansion if controls lag behind.
• A licence is an asset and an obligation. A full banking licence enables products but brings heavy supervision.
• Governance matters as companies mature. Investor and regulatory pressure can reshape leadership even at founder-led companies.

What to watch next

Watch for permanent leadership appointments, resolution of BaFin's concerns, audited full-year results, profitability, and any new funding or strategic transactions. N26's ability to grow profitably while satisfying regulators will determine its future valuation.

Key facts at a glance

N26 is a Berlin digital bank founded in 2013 by Valentin Stalf and Maximilian Tayenthal, with a full German banking licence. It projected about €440 million in 2024 revenue, up about 40%, and reported its first quarterly profit in Q3 2024 after BaFin lifted its growth cap in June 2024. It was valued at about US$9 billion in 2021. In August 2025, Stalf announced he would step down as co-CEO amid investor and regulatory pressure.

How German deposit protection works

Because N26 holds a German banking licence, eligible customer deposits are protected under Germany's statutory deposit guarantee scheme, which covers up to €100,000 per customer per bank, in line with EU rules. That protection applies to deposits, not to investments such as stocks or funds, which are covered by different rules. Customers outside Germany who bank with N26 are generally covered by the German scheme rather than their local one, which is worth understanding when comparing digital banks across Europe. Rules and limits can change, so check the current terms.

For anyone choosing a digital bank, understanding which licence and which protection scheme apply is one of the most important checks to make.

Comparing European digital banks

Europe's digital banks have taken different paths. Revolut expanded internationally fastest and became highly profitable. Monzo and Starling focused mainly on the UK and reached profitability through lending and business banking. N26 built a pan-European presence on a German licence but was slowed by regulatory restrictions. Comparing them shows how much regulation, focus and timing shape outcomes in digital banking.

For customers, the comparison is a reminder to look beyond app features to each bank’s licence, deposit protection, profitability and regulatory record before moving significant savings.

Those checks take only a few minutes and matter far more than app design.

What this means if you're…

A customer: deposits at N26 are covered by the German deposit guarantee scheme up to its limit; check the terms for your country.

A fintech founder: invest in compliance early; growth that outpaces controls can trigger restrictions that cost far more than prevention.

An investor: N26 shows how regulatory risk and governance can affect valuation as much as growth does.

Latest developments (October 2026)

N26 named UBS executive Mike Dargan as chief executive from April 2026, subject to BaFin approval, succeeding co-CEOs Marcus Mosen and co-founder Maximilian Tayenthal, according to FinTech Futures. BaFin has ordered further improvements to N26's organisation, including restrictions on its Dutch mortgage business. N26 reported its first annual profit for 2025, about €1.6 million, according to Börsen-Zeitung.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from the public sources below. Where sources disagreed, we used the company's own announcement or a primary news report. Private-company data changes; check the date beside each figure.

1. Sacra
2. N26 press release
3. Sifted