German digital bank N26 has raised $900 million in a new funding round that values the firm at $9 billion. That’s three times N26′s valuation in its last private fundraising round and means it’s now worth slightly more than Commerzbank, Germany’s second-largest listed lender. Frankfurt-listed Commerzbank has a market cap of 7.6 billion euros ($8.8 billion). Founded in 2013, N26 is one of several start-ups in Europe seeking to challenge established banks with app-based checking accounts and little to no fees. Competitors include Revolut, which was recently valued at $33 billion, and Monzo.
N26 now has 7 million customers across Europe and the U.S. and is on track to process $90 billion in transactions this year. The company recently acquired a banking license in Brazil, with a team of 40 employees already on the ground in São Paulo. N26 expects to roll out its app publicly in the country within the next year. With plenty of money available in private equity markets, many tech companies are opting to stay private for longer. N26 is still loss-making, racking up losses of 216.9 million euros in 2019. Its European business lost 110 million euros in 2020, down from 165 million a year earlier.