The German direct bank N26 is again in trouble with the supervisory authorities. In Italy, she is not allowed to take on any new customers until further notice. The financial regulator imposed the measure because of deficiencies in the fight against money laundering. It is not known how many customers N26 has in Italy. There should be no restrictions on the use of their accounts for existing customers.
In the home market of Germany, the number of new customers has been limited since the end of 2021. Last year, the German financial regulator Bafin also imposed a fine of 4.25 million euros on the direct bank for failing to submit suspected money laundering reports.
N26 is active in 24 European countries and is Germany’s most valuable fintech company, but the ongoing difficulties could dampen investor confidence. Last October, N26 was valued at 7.8 billion euros, and founder Maximilian Tayenthal only announced an IPO at the beginning of March. Although this would still be possible in the coming year, the prospects for this have deteriorated.