Germany-headquartered N26 is bailing out of the UK.

N26 launched in the country as recently as October 2018.

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But today it is blaming Brexit and says it is impossible to continue in the UK.

Some commentators may tend to the view that it was simply uneconomic for N26 to apply for a British banking licence.

Brexit, after all, has hardly been a secret or an unforeseeable business challenge.

Since its 2018 UK launch N26 has grown customer numbers to around 200,000 following an extensive marketing campaign.

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At the time of the UK launch, N26 had more than 1.5 million customers across 17 European markets.

Initially, it had lofty ambitions for the UK. Valentin Stalf, CEO and co-founder said: “The UK is one of the most digitally advanced countries in the world. At N26, we have re-imagined banking for the digital age. As a result we’re the fastest growing mobile bank in all European markets we operate.”

In the interim, N26 has grown its total customer numbers to more than 5 million. Highlights in 2019 included N26 launching in the US. It also opened a new TechHub in Vienna and launched its new premium product N26 You. And it introduced Shared Spaces, flexible sub-accounts designed to make banking more social, easy and shareable.

N26 follows Fidor in giving up on British market

N26 is not the first international digital bank to launch in the UK and beat a hasty retreat. For example, Germany-based Fidor launched in the UK in 2015.  As with N26, Fidor had ambitions to disrupt the UK market.

But in July last year Fidor said it was exiting the UK market citing what it termed ‘uncertainties’ in the UK market.  Fidor gave its UK customers three months to make alternative arrangements.

N26 is also giving UK customers three months to transfer their funds and close their accounts. N26 UK accounts will operate until 15 April, by which time customers need to transfer their funds.