German regulatory authority BaFin has reportedly extended measures at digital bank N26 in an effort to prevent illicit activities.
In 2019, BaFin issued an order targeting N26, telling the Fintech to “take appropriate internal safety measures” for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing.
In 2021, BaFin ordered that N26 Bank must take and maintain appropriate technical, organizational and personnel measures in order to ensure proper business organization and to be able to meet its legal obligations continuously. BaFin specifically mentioned SARs.
In an update today, BaFin said that to reduce risk, it extended the growth limit of 50,000 new customers per month, which has been in place since November 9, 2021.
BaFin stated that despite some progress, the institution still has deficiencies in its systems for preventing money laundering and terrorist financing.
In a report by Reuters, N26 noted that it has made considerable investments in anti-money laundering (AML) measures and is now committed “to comply with all aspects of the order as quickly as possible.”
N26, which reports over 8 million customers, also mentioned that it does business in 24 different countries, but primarily serves consumers residing in European markets.
As covered, Andrea Isola, former General Manager for Italy & South East Europe at N26, has been appointed as the new VP of European Markets and Business Operations at the German digital bank effective immediately.
In his new role as VP of European Markets and Business Operations, Andrea Isola “will oversee N26’s European markets as well as the Business Operations, Strategic Project Management and Sourcing functions.”
In this strategic role, he will be “responsible for the bank’s sustainable growth across its core European markets.”
Going forward, Andrea will “report directly to Maximilian Tayenthal, co-founder, co-CEO and Chief Operating Officer of N26, and will continue to hold the role of General Manager for Italy and South-East Europe on an interim basis until the appointment of the new head of the Italian subsidiary.”
Andrea Isola, VP of European Markets and Business Operations at N26, said:
“I am thrilled to further contribute to the sustainable growth of N26 in Europe by bringing together several strategic functions with our key markets in my new role. Streamlining our organisation in this way will facilitate closer alignment and further strengthen end-to-end processes, alongside our operational ability to execute at a global as well as a local level.”