Hamburg neobank for teenagers files for bankruptcy
The Hamburg fintech start-up Ruuky has filed for bankruptcy. Despite the teenage banking offering getting a lot of traction on social media, the company has been unable to find investors to refinance it. However, the young team does not want to give up just yet.
Ruuky was meant to be a young adult banking option. But now the fintech start-up has to file for bankruptcy just two years after it was founded.
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Ruuky: Banking for teenagers
The account app should give young adults under the age of 18 the opportunity to make their first financial decisions. For example, they could manage their own money or set up savings plans.
In addition to the banking offer, Ruuky also tried to reach the young target group in terms of marketing … above all via social media. Mental arithmetic challenges and video sketches brought the start-up more than 230,000 followers and around 2.7 million likes on TikTok.
Online success couldn’t save the start-up
Despite its temporary success, Ruuky failed to convince investors to launch a new round of funding. Like the one among others Business Insider reported, the neon bank therefore filed an application for the opening of insolvency proceedings on January 4, 2023.
The bet was also risky from the start, according to the business magazine. Especially since the neon bank N26 had already tried a similar business model and given up again.
Ruuky doesn’t give up
Despite the pending insolvency proceedings, the Hamburg start-up does not want to give up just yet. “Our customer growth and our relevance on Gen Z channels shows that there is a need for a modern, safe and educational banking approach for young people,” says CEO Jes Hennig.
But one has to accept that the market conditions for capital-intensive start-ups have changed. The aim of the insolvency proceedings is to preserve the team’s jobs and obtain further financing.
So far, according to Ruuky, around 250,000 users have registered on the banking app. Existing customers should initially continue to be able to use their accounts.
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