Fintech
Q3 202404.07.2024

Digital banking (Q3 2024)

Picture of Tom Matsuda

Tom Matsuda

at Sifted

Europeans are frequently maligned for not producing anything like a Meta or an Amazon — but digital banking is one sector that has outpaced US innovation.

Europe’s challenger banks and their nifty apps continue to bring in gigantic sums — Revolut and N26 last raised at $800m and $900m respectively and last month saw Monzo top up its March £340m round with $190m from Google’s CapitalG and secretive fintech venture firm Hedosophia. Revolut this week announced bumper increases in both revenue and profit.

As neobanks become more powerful, we can see regulators increasing their scrutiny of the sector. Startups developing anti-money-laundering software should expect to benefit from this — regulators will come down hard on challenger banks if they don’t boost their capacities here.

What’s next for challenger banks? New product lines and territories: Monzo plans to expand to the US and Starling is pushing its software-as-a-service side hustle with the expansion of Engine, a platform that helps other banks create digital operations of their own. Revolut is diversifying into advertising.

We’re also beginning to see neobanks adding generative AI features to their consumer-facing products. Dutch neobank Bunq rolled out its “conversational” digital assistant Finn in May. Denmark’s Lunar also recently unveiled its AI-powered financial assistant which gives insights into customer spending habits and breakdowns of holiday spending.

IPOs don’t look imminent, however: no bank born from an app has achieved a public listing in Europe. “It’s not so obvious” which European stock market the neobanks should list on, General Catalyst partner Zeynep Yavuz tells Sifted.

20 startups to watch

  • Weavr logo

    Sifted score

    8.38
    -

    Weavr

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Serial founder(s)
    • Hiring

    • Year founded

      2020

    • HQ

      London, United Kingdom

    • Latest round

      Series A
      €37.3m / Jul 2022

    • Total funding

      €51.3m

    View company profile
  • Griffin logo

    Sifted score

    7.86
    -

    Griffin

    Design and advertising solution for local businesses.

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Hiring

    • Year founded

      2017

    • HQ

      London, United Kingdom

    • Latest round

      Series A
      €21.9m / Mar 2024

    • Total funding

      €61.2m

    View company profile
  • Pliant logo

    Sifted score

    7.27
    -

    Pliant

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Serial founder(s)
    • Hiring

    • Year founded

      2020

    • HQ

      Berlin, Germany

    • Latest round

      Series A
      €18m / Apr 2024

    • Total funding

      €70m

    View company profile
  • Connect Earth logo

    Sifted score

    7.24
    -

    Connect Earth

    API-based toolkit for carbon emissions.

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Hiring

    • Year founded

      2021

    • HQ

      London, United Kingdom

    • Latest round

      Seed
      €5.1m / Mar 2023

    • Total funding

      €6.7m

    View company profile
  • Dimply logo

    Sifted score

    6.51
    -

    Dimply

    Platform for personalized financial experiences.

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Serial founder(s)
    • Hiring

    • Year founded

      2020

    • HQ

      Dublin, Ireland

    • Latest round

      Seed
      €1.5m / Dec 2023

    • Total funding

      €5.7m

    View company profile

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