Number26, a Germany-based mobile banking service backed by publishing house Axel Springer, received $40m yesterday in a series B round led by venture capital firm Horizons Ventures.
Battery Ventures, Valar Ventures, Earlybird Ventures and Redalpine Ventures also took part in the round, as did assorted angel investors.
Founded in 2013, Number26 has formed a partnership with financial services firm Wildcard Bank to operate a mobile banking service. Users can open a new bank account using a smartphone or desktop app within eight minutes.
The bank is currently available in eight countries across Europe: Germany, Austria, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Slovakia and Spain. Number26 will use the series B capital to expand into additional markets and add additional features such as savings, investment and credit.
Axel Springer’s Plug and Play Accelerator first provided €25,000 ($28,000) in seed funding as part of Number26’s participation in the program in 2013, before contributing to a $2m seed round in 2014 alongside Earlybird and Redalpine.
Valar, Earlybird, Redalpine and entrepreneur Daniel Aegerter subsequently invested $10.7m in Number26’s April 2015 series A round.