UK-based digital finance company Atom Bank has secured approval to provide retail deposits in Germany.
The bank is launching Fixed Savings products to German savers from 4 September, through a partnership with Deposit Solutions.
The company aims to diversify its funding options in the German market. It claims to have witnessed significant growth since its public launch in 2016.
With this move, the company says that its German consumers will now be able to take advantage of Atom’s competitive rates across a range of fixed term products.
Atom bank CEO Mark Mullen said: “Responsible and sustainable growth always has been and always will be a priority for Atom.
"Access to the German market has been carefully considered in order to give us an additional stream to increase deposits to aid our next stage of growth. We remain committed to building a low-cost business model and offering customers simple, transparent and innovative products and services to help them manage their finances with ease.
Mullen continued saying: “Deposit Solutions provide an innovative service and a quality, easy to use customer experience. At Atom, we are all about redefining what a bank should be and ensuring the customer is at the heart of everything we do, therefore this partnership is a natural fit.”
The move from Atom Bank and other challenger banks compete for savings in the UK. While there is uncertainty in regulation, high costs and capital requirements, new-age, app-based banks are avoiding current account market.
Atom Bank says that it will gather deposit funding from Europe’s largest savings bank market and onto its balance sheet, without the need to set up any retail infrastructure in the country.
Deposits Solutions was founded in 2011 and the idea was to provide an open banking platform for instant-access and fixed-term savings, allowing customers to gain greater control over their money.
The open platform from Deposits Solutions is claimed to be connecting 30 banks from 15 European countries. Some of the institutions include Deutsche Bank and FFB, Fidelity’s German subsidiary.
Deposit Solutions CEO Tim Sievers said: “This partnership brings together one of the best recognised UK challenger banks with one of Europe’s fastest growing Fintech firms. Both Deposit Solutions and Atom Bank have close brand synergies and are innovators seeking to utilise technology to open up the banking sector, increase value and improve the customer experience.”
In March this year, Atom Bank raised £83m from its investors including BBVA, Woodford Investment Management, Toscafund Asset Management and others. This raised its capital to £219m.
Image: Atom Bank collaborates with Deposit Solutions to serve German customers. Photo: Courtesy of blackzheep/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.