France's leading neobank, with more than 1.5 million customers, is starting its international rollout, beginning with Spain, followed by 6 other countries. To support its growth, Nickel intends to recruit 100 people in France every year for 4 years. All the details.
Reinforcing the security of Nickel accounts
Bought out by BNP Paribas, in 2018, Compte Nickel has made its name change official to become: Nickel. The bankless account offered by nearly 5,000 partner tobacconists gives way to a new signature and logo. The neobank intends to maintain its initial promise of providing a card, account and RIB in less than 5 minutes at a tobacconist's for a basic annual fee of 20 euros. It plans to devote more resources to strengthening account security and improving IT systems. Last November, several customers reported technical bugs in bank transfers.
Despite strong user demand, Nickel does not intend to offer cheque cashing at tobacconists for the time being. However, customers will soon be able to personalize their card with their name, color and design. The price of this service has not yet been set, and should be announced by next summer.
Nickel announces its strategic plan to 2024
On November 26, 2019, Nickel presented its strategic plan to 2024. The bank plans to continue its development on the French market and has set itself the goal of winning over 4 million users in 5 years. The company currently has 1.5 million customers, making it France's leading neobank. To achieve this goal, the company is focusing on expanding its distribution network and enhancing its offering.
Nickel also plans to establish a presence in 7 European countries by 2024. The Spanish market, where online banks are still relatively new, will be the first to open in spring 2020. The online bank has already signed a partnership agreement with the Spanish Fenamix network, which groups together 6,500 sales outlets distributing the lotteries and sports betting of the'lotteries and sports betting. Nickel does not specify the 6 other markets involved, but it does indicate that Portugal, Austria, Belgium, Greece and Italy are under consideration.
The French company has already achieved profitability, generating earnings of one million euros in fiscal 2018. These funds will enable it to self-finance its development plan without calling on a new capital injection from its two shareholders, BNP Paribas (95%) and the confederation of French tobacconists (5%). However, BNP Paribas' presence in the various countries is a significant support for Nickel, which plans to draw on the Group's local teams.