Neobank app users in the UK are on track to surpass legacy banks for the first time by the first quarter of 2025, according to research conducted by SplitMetrics on the Google Play Store.
After a strong first half to 2024, UK neobanks are now just six million users behind legacy banks, with an estimated 62 million lifetime Google Play Store app downloads, compared to 68 million for legacy banks in the UK.
UK neobanks added an estimated 9.5 million new Android users in the first half of 2024, 81% more than UK legacy banks, which only added an estimated four million new users. If this trend repeats itself in the second half of the year, neobanks will reach 71.5 million app users, compared to 72 million for legacy banks.
Revolut leads the field with the most users added in the first half of 2024 with 7.9 million, accounting for 41% of new banking app downloads, followed by Santander Spain (1.2 million), Monzo (935,000), Credit Agricole (836,000) and Lloyds (655,000). .
In terms of lifetime downloads, the top five Android apps are Revolut (46 million), Credit Agricole (16 million), Santander Spain (13 million), Barclays (13 million) and Intesa Sanpaolo (11 million).
Thomas Kriebernegg, General Manager at SplitMetrics Agency, comments: “Neobanks have had a strong start to 2024 and are moving ever closer to closing the gap with legacy banks, particularly in the UK.”
“UK banking fintechs are growing much faster than legacy banks quarter on quarter, accounting for an impressive 50% of all new banking app users in the first half of 2024.”
Looking across the European and UK banking sectors, the survey predicts that 2024 is likely to be a record year for new Android users.
SplitMetrics found that banking apps on Android devices saw an estimated 19 million new downloads in the first half of 2024 – a 23% increase from 16 million during the same period in 2023.