Germany's financial regulator, BaFin, has removed a cap on the number of new customers that digital bank N26 can onboard, effective June 1. The cap, originally set in 2021, restricted N26 to onboarding a maximum of 50,000 new customers per month, which was later increased to 60,000 last year.

Removing Onboarding Cap

The lifting of the cap follows a period of extensive discussions between N26 and BaFin aimed at enhancing measures to combat financial crime and money laundering. This decision comes in the wake of a €9.2 million fine imposed by BaFin on N26 for systematically submitting suspected money laundering reports late in 2022.

Over the past two years, N26 reports that it has invested more than €100 million in compliance , infrastructure, and team development to address money laundering issues as it prepares to increase customer onboarding. The bank has introduced advanced technology, including intelligence-based models to assess fraud potential before account opening and self-learning transaction monitoring systems.

Maximilian Tayenthal, Co-CEO and COO, N26, commented: “Our infrastructure and our use of modern, intelligence-based technology enable us to detect and combat fraud and money laundering in real time. We want to play a pioneering role among European banks in this field over the next few years.”

Introducing Joint Accounts in 21 European Countries

Earlier, N26 launched joint accounts in 21 European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Spain, and Sweden, allowing users to manage shared finances via its app without paperwork, as reported by Finance Magnates.

These accounts provide dedicated IBANs, enabling users to track expenses, filter by participant, and manage monthly budgets for shared costs like rent. Each participant has full legal ownership and access to smart insights for transparent financial management. This new feature complements N26's existing Shared Spaces, which allows creating sub-accounts with close contacts.