FinTech N26 Metal Card Gets An Update

N26, the FinTech bank startup, is upgrading its N26 Metal card, with a launch happening Wednesday (June 13).

According to a report in TechCrunch, the card was first announced at TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin in December of 2017 and was available for early access by N26 Black customers. But after feedback from customers in which they complained about the design, N26 updated it, reported TechCrunch. The original card was made largely of a sheet of tungsten, with the metal part surrounded by plastic. Customers, noted the report, said the card got scratched up and that they didn’t like how the card felt.  More recently, N26 announced it would be rolling out a new version of the N26 Metal with the front of the card made of actual metal and the MasterCard logo engraved. TechCrunch noted the name of the customer will be on the back of the card.

In April, as it builds a retail bank from the ground up, N26 has notched $160 million in a Series C funding round led by Allianz and Tencent. For the round, Allianz invested through its Allianz X investment arm, TechCrunch reported at the time. In total, the company has raised more than $200 million in funding. With the new infusion, N26 is planning more partnerships and expansions. It also plans to add more new features and engineers. Already, the company has brought in 850,000 customers, and hopes to reach over 5 million by 2020. N26 originally launched in 2013 in Germany without a banking license under the name Number26, operating as a financial interface. Later that year, the company acquired a banking license and began offering more traditional financial services throughout the European Union (EU). In December 2017, after adding more than 500,000 customers in Germany and 16 other countries throughout the EU, the company had set its sights on expanding into new markets as well as opening for business in Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.