Helvetia Venture Fund Acquires Stake in Swiss Challenger Bank Neon

The Helvetia Venture Fund invested and holds a stake in neon, which offers app-based banking. This follows a previous partnership where Smile, a Swiss digital insurance solution from Helvetia, and neon offered a mobile bancassurance solution in Switzerland.

This round of investments includes the new investors QoQa SA and other private investors, as well as existing investors TX Group, Backbone Ventures, the Innovation Foundation of the Schwyz Cantonal Bank and Business Angels. The total funding round is according to neon a bit more as 5 million CHF.

neon provides an app-based Swiss banking solution, in which users can open a bank account and get a free Mastercard. neon is said to be convenient and offers low fees, particularly for international transactions, and attractive exchange rates.

Unlike foreign challenger banks, neon issues accounts with a Swiss IBAN, which are also covered by the Swiss deposit protection scheme due to a cooperation with Hypothekarbank Lenzburg. Just one year after its launch, it is alleged to have more than 30,000 customers are using the banking app.

First fintech investment by the Helvetia Venture Fund

The past partnership between the two entities was potentially the reason that prompted Helvetia Venture Fund to start investing in the fintech sector.

Martin Tschopp

“neon has an excellent product with impressive growth figures. The cooperation with neon gives Helvetia the opportunity to access new customers. We are also confident that neon will further develop the traditional Swiss banking market in the long term”,

explained Martin Tschopp, Chief Customer Officer at Helvetia Switzerland.