The Berlin-based fintech company Bling has more than 50,000 families utilizing its services just 18 months after its launch.

By enabling parents and kids to manage and invest their money via a card and app, this cutting-edge platform is expanding access to education while also enhancing it.

Bling is definitely making waves with its distinct focus on families and rapid expansion, as evidenced by its partnership with the massive telecom company Deutsche Telekom.

Together, they have launched Bling Mobile, which claims to be the first mobile plan launched by a fintech in the EU and the first product in the market created especially for families, complete with cutting-edge media literacy-promoting content and child safety features.

"Bling Mobile represents the next phase in our growth towards becoming a comprehensive family platform," says Nils Feigenwinter, Co-Founder and CEO of Bling.

"We now streamline mobile communication for families, from managing pocket money to facilitating effortless parent investing and organizing household tasks."

Digital solutions that are suitable for families

Bling is a family-friendly digital solutions provider for payments, investments, and mobile communications. It was founded in the German capital in 2021.

By utilizing its app and social media to provide instructive content and basic visualisations, the company hopes to raise children's and families' financial and media literacy.

Tens of thousands of kids already use the Bling Card as their main method of payment, and for many families, Bling's "savings trees" are their first financial experience.

Ben Tellings, the former CEO of the German ING branch, PEAK, La Famiglia (General Catalyst), and Bling raised millions of dollars during the funding winter of 2023.

With the release of Bling Mobile, the rapidly expanding fintech has now advanced toward being a family-friendly daily companion.

Telco and fintech come together

Parental control features and a telco tariff portfolio are integrated into the Bling app, indicating a deliberate shift towards a more comprehensive family-focused platform.

Together, Bling and Deutsche Telekom are launching Bling Mobile.
The collaboration with Telekom, the biggest telecom provider in Europe, highlights the potential for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) and the profitable business opportunity that arises from the convergence of fintech and telecommunications, which offers relatively greater margins than the B2C fintech industry.

By offering consumers seamless connectivity alternatives and addressing the shifting dynamics within the financial sector, it also capitalizes on the growing popularity of e-SIMs.

Serving the initial touch points that parents have with their kids—the bank account, the investment, and now the SIM card—benefits Bling and contributes to the multibillion telecom application map (MAP).

"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," says Wolfgang Metze, MD of Private Customers at Deutsche Telekom.

"A topic close to our hearts is the promotion of media literacy in particular."

Nils Feigenwinter (left), Leon Stephan (right), and Wolfgang Metze (Deutsche Telekom) from Bling.