UK Neobanks Surpass Traditional Banks In App Downloads Before Christmas
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The latest research from SplitMetrics has revealed that UK neobanks, like Revolut and Monzo, have surpassed traditional UK banks in app downloads for the first time. This change comes just before the busy holiday period.
It shows that more people like neobanks better than old banks. The report says UK neobanks now have 71.78 million Android users, which is only 200,000 more than the 71.58 million users old banks have.
In 2024, UK neobanks got 18.6 million new users, but old UK banks only got 7.5 million. Neobanks in Europe got 2.9 million new users, while old European banks got 8.4 million. This shows that new digital banks are growing faster than old banks.
UK Neobanks See Increase In Their User’s Bases
Revolut is the top UK neobank, getting 15.6 million new users in 2024. Next is Monzo with 1.8 million users, then Starling with 463,000, Virgin Money with 242,000, and First Direct with 194,000. These apps have gained a lot of users, showing that neobanks are now very strong in banking.
On the other hand, the top UK banks with the most user growth in 2024 were Lloyds, adding 1.2 million users; Barclays, adding 1.1 million users; Halifax, adding 1 million users; NatWest, adding 912,000 users; and HSBC, with 792,000 new users. While these legacy banks still add millions of users, neobanks have shown faster growth.
Thomas Kriebernegg, the manager of SplitMetrics, said fintech, like neobanks, is no longer just competing with old banks. It is now a strong leader in the industry. He noted that while the progress is impressive, it is uncertain if it will carry on into 2025 and later.
Trading and Crypto Applications See Strong Growth
In addition to neobanks, trading apps grew a lot in 2024, adding nearly 11 million new Android users. This is more than the record set in 2022. Altogether, trading apps now have 86 million users. UK apps are the largest with 22.8 million users, followed by European apps with 9 million, and 54.6 million from other countries.
The top five trading apps in 2024 that gained the most new users are Trade Republic with 2.2 million, eToro with 2 million, Robinhood with 1.9 million, Trading 212 with 1.1 million, and Fidelity Investments with 1 million. These apps continue to grow as more people engage in trading and investment.
The crypto sector also performed strongly, adding 5.6 million Android downloads in 2024. The rise of Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election played a role in this change. In Europe, the top crypto apps for 2024 were Luno with 1.9 million new users, Nexo with 1.5 million, Blockchain.com with 677,000, Bitpanda with 425,000, and Wirex with 423,000.
