UK challenger bank Revolut is expected to add three million new user by June and COVID-19 could be a contributing factor.
That is according to new data compiled by Finance in Bold. The research suggested that Revolut’s customer base could grow from 10.84 million users in February this year to 13.07 million by June.
And by 2021, that figure is estimated to have jumped by 36% to reach over 16 million users having signed up to use the digital bank’s services.
The coronavirus pandemic was identified by the researchers as one of the contributing factors for the FinTech unicorn’s expected growth. They argued that because many countries are encouraging people to avoid using physical money or to go to branches, of which Revolut has none, the challenger bank and its peers had an opportunity to grow their business.
That echoes an observation made by German neobank N26 when FinTech Global reached out to ask it and other European challenger banks how they have handled the crisis. The spokesperson noted that N26 had “seen a slight increase in the number of card and mobile wallet transactions, and we expect this trend to continue as more people adjust their everyday habits to reduce the risk of transmission.”
The N26 spokesperson speculated that this could be because the World Health Organization had “advised people to use contactless payments over cash whenever possible, as bank notes change hands often and can carry bacteria and viruses as they are circulated.”
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