Data researched by Trading Platforms UK indicates that European challenger banks are projected to cumulatively hit 42.4 million app downloads by the end of 2021. The estimates represent a growth of 18.86% from the January 2021 figure of 35.6 million.
As of December 2021, Revolut is estimated to have 18 million app downloads. As of January this year, the facility had an estimated 15.2 million downloads.
Monzo is projected to have 7.3 million downloads in December, a growth from January’s 6.1 million downloads. N26 will record 6.9 million app downloads by the end of the year, while in January, the figure was at 5.9 million.
Elsewhere, Monese will register around 4.2 million downloads by December. As of January, the platform had an estimated 3.6 million in-app downloads.
Starling app downloads are projected to be 3.4 million as of December, growing from the estimated January figure of 2.8 million. Lastly, Bunq numbers will stand at 2.3 million while in January, the estimates stood at 1.9 million.
Pandemic offers a base for app download growth
The analysis points out some of the drivers that will likely fuel the app download growth. According to the research report:
“Furthermore, the pandemic has acted as a driver for the projected number of app downloads by the end of this year. The coronavirus health crisis saw challenger banks thrive as the world moved to digital products. With measures like contactless payments being encouraged, most people turned to challenger banks for everyday banking transactions. Challengers were naturally better placed to adapt to the circumstances presented by Covid-19. The highlighted apps are likely expected to build on this growth to hit the projected numbers.”
Although the projected growth numbers are significant for the challenger banks, they still have a long way to go in terms of challenging traditional banking facilities. It will be interesting to see how the download numbers will evolve, considering that some traditional banks are increasingly beginning to offer similar products to neobanks.