As a result of the difficult economic situation, another German bank had to file for bankruptcy: the neobank Ruuky. Hundreds of thousands of customers are affected.
Anyone who is currently visiting Neobank Ruuky (formerly Pockid) is greeted by a big lead: “Unfortunately, Ruuky had to apply for the opening of insolvency proceedings and we are currently working on the future of your bank.” asked the obvious question: “What does that mean for you (the customer, editor’s note)?”
Neobank Ruuky is insolvent
So-called neo-banks are credit institutions that have specialized in the connection between a mobile app and the associated money card. That was also Ruuky’s concept when the company was founded three years ago. In addition to its own app, a debit Mastercard is also offered. The main target group of the Hamburg company is the so-called Generation Z, i.e. the current 13 to 25 year olds. The average age of Ruuky users is 16 years. The bank is pursuing the approach of using its mobile concept to appeal to young people in particular and to introduce them to financial independence.
A total of around 250,000 customers have an account with Ruuky. This makes the bank one of the smaller banks in Germany. For comparison: the neobank N26 counted out loud extra more than 8 million customers in autumn 2022. However, this bank was founded in 2013 and has therefore been on the market for a few years longer than Ruuky. Banks such as Consorsbank or Barclays Bank Ireland, on the other hand, have 1.5 and 1.4 million customers respectively in 2021.
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The past three years since Bank Ruuky was founded have not been easy for the entire financial world: the Wirecard scandal, Covid and, last but not least, inflation have put a lot of strain on the market. The direct trigger for the insolvency was now – also due to the economic situation – that the new round of financing was not successful. Large investors so far have probably been Vorwerk Ventures and Cavalry.
Founder Jes Henning confirmed to the industry portal Finance Forward: “We have not been able to obtain new capital in the current market environment.” Despite a fresh concept and a company valuation of 16 million euros, one must “accept that the market conditions for capital-intensive startups has changed [sic].” The neobank Ruuky is currently looking for a buyer due to the insolvency.
What does this mean for customers of the bank?
The approx. 250,000 customers of Neobank Ruuky do not currently have to react to the insolvency. The company assures that customer balances will not be affected and full access to accounts will remain. Payments and transfers can also continue to be carried out accordingly. However, it is not possible to open a new account with Neobank Ruuky in the course of the insolvency.
Insolvency administrator Jens-Sören Schröder, partner in the law firm Johlke Niethammer, is currently taking care of the further procedure. In the meantime, according to Schröder, he has received around 20 expressions of interest, including strategic investors such as banks and fintechs as well as private equity companies. In one from the website starbase In addition to the published comment, the insolvency administrator continues: “Due to the remarkable investor interest at this early stage, I am very confident that the search for investors for Ruuky will be successful.”
Ruuky planned to start in neighboring Austria in November 2022. Insolvency had to be filed on January 4, 2023. And while day-to-day business continues for the time being, the 20 or so employees of the company are now primarily affected. If no buyer can be found, there is a risk of liquidation. This would then also result in the closure of the previous accounts.
Sources
- FinanceFWD (“Neobank Ruuky files for bankruptcy”, accessed 23 January 2023)
- Ruuky (accessed January 16, 2023)