We analysed the impact of COVID-19 on neo banks using the Fincog Challenger Bank Index. Our index tracks 100 of the largest challenger banks worldwide on a monthly basis and is based on search frequency (i..e number of Google searches) as a proxy for traction.
This infographic is part of a broader analysis that can be read in the blog article Performance of neo banks in times of COVID-19.
Neo banks have seen strong growth in the last years – the only way seemed up. However, the coronavirus pandemic has significantly impacted this trend. Overall market growth of neo banks has abruptly halted. While our index grew over 30% per year since 2017, its growth has been flat (0.1%) since January and decreased 4% since its peak in February.
However, large differences can be observed between players. In the daily banking sector, we saw European players such as Monzo, Revolut and N26 declining, while daily banking challengers in other regions, e.g. Nubank in Latin America, performed well. The foreign currency challengers were clearly impacted by the crisis, but some players prove resilient. The clear winner across the globe is the trading sector, as shown by Robinhood. SME lending challengers, e.g. Starling Bank, boomed as well during the pandemic. The consumer lending sector, however, saw flat growth.
