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Coronavirus affects challenger banks as app downloads decline

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According to Finbold, top challenger banks in the United Kingdom have noticed a sudden decline in the number of new application downloads during the COVID-19 outbreak.

It is indicated that on average, the downloads of all the challenger banks’ application downloads diminished by 23.38% in March as compared to February this year.

At the top position is Monzo, where downloads reduced by -36.12%. In March the bank only accounted for 148,608 downloads, a drop almost double the amount in February’s 232,639. During the same period last year, the bank’s growth was significantly high in terms of application downloads noting an increase of 27.68% between February (123,317) and March (157,463) 2019.

Revolut also noted a reduction of -18.16% in downloads. In March, the platform had 95,461 downloads, compared to 116,648 in February. Revolut, just like Monzo, was on a growth journey during the same period last year. In March last year, the Neobank attracted around 73,016 downloads, reflecting a growth of 13.19% from 64,504 new downloads in February last year.

Both Revolut and Monzo rejected rumors circulating on social media stating that the banks were in threat of a financial collapse. Both the banks are well capitalized since they have recently raised huge funding rounds.

According to a report by Rosenblatt Securities, it is predicted that the Coronavirus epidemic would have a harmful impact on fintech valuations. Furthermore, most of the market lenders, digital wealth management firms, and challenger banks would all be at the battlefront. Revolut and Monzo are not the only banks experiencing losses. Many other including Starling Bank are having similar experiences.