Bling: The First EU Fintech to Offer Mobile Phone Plans

February 28, 2024

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Leon Stephan (left) and Nils Feigenwinter, Co-Founders at Bling

Bling and Deutsche Telekom have joined forces to launch Bling Mobile, billed as the first launch of a mobile phone plan by a fintech in the European Union

Just 18 months after its launch, Bling, the Berlin-based fintech, can already count more than 50,000 families using its services.

This exciting, innovative platform is allowing both parents and children to manage and invest their money via a card and app, improving access to education in the process.

Clearly, Bling’s unique focus on families and strong growth is turning heads, as demonstrated by its alliance with the telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom.

The pair have joined forces to launch Bling Mobile, billed as the first launch of a mobile phone plan by a fintech in the European Union and the first mobile product in the EU specifically designed for families, including innovative child safety functions and content to promote media literacy.

Nils Feigenwinter, Co-Founder and CEO at Bling

"With Bling Mobile, we make the next step in expanding to a holistic family platform,” explains Nils Feigenwinter, Co-Founder and CEO at Bling.

“From managing pocket money, facilitating effortless parent investing and organising household tasks, we now streamline mobile communication for families.”

Family-friendly digital solutions

Founded in the German capital in 2021, Bling offers family-friendly digital solutions in the areas of payment, investment and mobile communications.

The firm is on a mission to improve the financial and media literacy of children and families, tapping into simple visualisations and educational information via its app and social media.

Already, the Bling Card is the primary payment experience for tens of thousands of children, while Bling's 'savings trees' represent the first investment for families.

Amid the funding winter of 2023, Bling managed to raise millions from renowned investors such as La Famiglia (General Catalyst), PEAK and Ben Tellings, former CEO of the German ING branch.

Now, with the launch of Bling Mobile, the fast-growing fintech has taken its next step towards becoming a daily companion for the whole family.

Fintech and telco intersect

Bling's integration of a telco tariff portfolio within its app, complete with parental control functionalities, reflects a strategic move towards a more holistic family-oriented platform.

Bling and Deutsche Telekom have Joined Forces to Launch Bling Mobile

The partnership with Telekom—the largest telco provider in Europe—showcases the potential for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), highlighting the intersection of fintech and telecommunications for a lucrative business proposition with comparatively higher margins than the B2C fintech sector.

It also taps into the rising popularity of e-SIMs, providing users with seamless connectivity options and addressing the changing dynamics within the fintech sector.

Bling benefits from serving the first touch points that parents have for their children: the first bank account; the first investment; and now the first SIM card, creating a multi-billion telecom application map (MAP).

Wolfgang Metze, MD Private Customers at Deutsche Telekom, adds: “We’re pleased that, together with Bling—one of the fastest-growing fintechs in Europe—we’ve been able to develop a unique digital mobile communication product for children, teenagers and their parents, which sets new standards and positions it in an important target group segment.

“In particular, the promotion of media literacy is a matter close to our hearts.”