German online bank N26 is set to introduce stock and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) trading for customers in Austria and Germany as part of its strategy to achieve profitability. N26, under the

scrutiny of German financial regulators, plans to enable some Austrian customers to trade ETFs starting January 17, with a subsequent expansion to include "over a thousand stocks" for customers in both Austria and Germany in the coming months, according to a press release.

Amid the surge in retail trading during the COVID-19 pandemic, several mobile banking apps, including the UK's Revolut, have added features allowing customers to trade stocks and cryptocurrencies. N26 initially introduced crypto trading for select customers in late 2022.

Founder and CEO Valentin Stalf stated that a majority of N26 customers have completed the necessary verification and eligibility checks to participate in stock trading. The German financial regulator BaFin had fined N26 in 2021 for money-laundering control failures and imposed restrictions on new customer acquisition, which were raised in October to 60,000 per month from 50,000.

Stalf acknowledged increased regulatory scrutiny since the Wirecard scandal in 2020 and mentioned that N26 is likely to experience "slightly negative" profits in 2024 but aims for monthly profitability in the second half of the year. Despite having raised $900 million at a $9 billion valuation in 2021, N26 has no plans for further fundraising and is well-financed for the next few years. Stalf indicated that a realistic timeline for an initial public offering (IPO) would be within the next three to five years. Photo by PeterJuracek, Wikimedia commons.