In view of the 2024 financial report from neobank Revolut, it is not only its direct competitor N26 that should be worried. Despite the difficult economic situation, the British bank has achieved impressive growth – across all key figures such as revenue, pre-tax profit, customer base and deposits. Revolut also claims to be making steady progress in N26's home market of Germany, both in the retail and corporate customer segment, and with double-digit and in some cases triple-digit growth rates.

It is not only a bad sign for German fintechs that a foreign start-up can so easily grab market share in this country. German legacy banks, which have supposedly relied on investments in digital banking and technology for years, should also be on alert. If Revolut's figures are to be believed, Europe's most valuable fintech now has over 2 million customers in Germany. N26 claims to have around 5 million, while the direct bank DKB has around 5.8 million. Although this is still a head start, the numbers are not worlds apart.

In addition, Revolut is doing its homework in terms of compliance, and traditional banks can no longer claim this competitive advantage. It is true that the neobank attracted some negative attention in the first few years after its market launch in 2015, with accounting problems and breaches of EU regulations. However, in addition to all the growth ambitions, the bank clearly realised that it urgently needed to make improvements here.

Although the relatively new internal bonus system „Karma“ has been criticised by observers due to the monitoring of employees, it is intended to create the right incentives for a healthy risk and compliance culture – something that is also often in short supply at German banks. Just think of the recent scandals in the co-operative sector.

Both Revolut and N26 – credit must be given to the Berliners as well – have now achieved profitability. The path to break-even has long been considered the Achilles heel of challenger banks, also in terms of attractiveness for investors. Meanwhile, a Revolut IPO seems to be within reach. This would give the British company a further boost globally.